You give me hope
by AliceMcNerney
Summary: Skye regrets not being honest with her team. Grant is mad but he decides to help her though this and prove to her that there's always hope. Skyward.
1. Chapter 1

So here it is, my first story ever. I hope you enjoy it xx

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**Chapter 1**

I have never felt so devastated in my whole life, or so I thought. God knows how much pain I got to experience before, but now it felt different. Just as I found one thing that I've always needed – something close to a family and being a part of something, I had to go and mess it up. It's like I always do, I mess up all the good things. That's just the way I am, a messed up girl, who always feels unnecessary and unwanted, an unwanted child of hell knows who, an orphan. I just want to know who I am so much, to find out who my parents are (or were). Is that a lot to ask for? It seems that it is.

Now everyone on the team, my team, hates me and I can't really be mad at them about it because I totally deserve it. I'm the one to blame for losing the trust of these people. And God, I miss them so much! Now I can admit that I took all of it for granted, and I want it all back oh so much. The looks on their faces just make me want to hide and cry, as if I am that little girl again, locked up in the orphanage, fatherless and motherless, and lonely. A child who wants to be loved so desperately. That feeling only escalated now that I almost got a family but lost it just as fast as I got it.

Ward. I had his trust, I had it and I lost it, and it wasn't even his thing to let people in, but he let me in and all I've done was keep secrets from him and the rest of the team. Somehow losing Ward hurt much more. Just thinking about it hurt like a bitch. I didn't notice the moment I started crying. The way I felt about him I couldn't quite comprehend but he was special to me. Every time I was with him I felt whole and happy and there was a weird feeling in the bottom of my stomach. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of me. I wasn't familiar with this feeling. It all was new to me. Having people in my life who I genuinely cared about. Or wait, I didn't have that any more.

Still lost in my thoughts, I went to the kitchen to find something to drink. I was glad no one was here because I wasn't ready to see the hate and confusion on their faces again. I felt weak and still on the verge of tears. So I took a bottle of water from the fridge and drank some but it didn't make me feel better in any way.

I didn't notice how I came to the training area. It was too late to retreat because Ward had already noticed I was there. Seeing him, I made a sigh and breathed in slowly. I didn't want to burst out crying in front of him. My puffy red eyes didn't escape his attention, though. Seeing his face and the look he gave me, a mix of hurt and confusion and something else I couldn't get to read, I thought that it would only be fair if I explained everything to him, told him what it was all about, that I never betrayed him, the team, or the S.H.I.E.L.D.

I was finally ready to tell him my story, all I knew about myself, and why I failed to trust people. I was determined to make him listen.

- Ward…

I began but he didn't let me go on.

- Skye, you…

- No, wait! You have to listen to what I have to say!

- Oh I have to?

He was irritated and obviously didn't want to speak to me even again, and just looking at his face, into his eyes made me want to cry.

- Grant, please. Don't interrupt.

Calling him by name got his attention, cause I didn't really call him by name, only occasionally. Our eyes met, and something in his expression suddenly changed, though I still could tell he didn't want to listen to me.

- I've been an orphan all my life, never had anything close to a family. The feeling of loneliness and being unwanted and unnecessary always haunted me. The only thing that mattered to me is to find out who I am. To know what my last name was, who my parents were, cause I was a lost girl who needed the answers, but more and more questions was all I had. That was the reason I learned how to crack systems, why I joined the Rising Tide. It was the thing that made me who I am, a lost girl who doesn't trust people, sometimes even myself.

Tears were streaming down my face and there was no stopping them. Ward seemed to listen carefully, so I continued.

- My life search leaded me to one single document. Redacted. By S.H.I.E.L.D.

- That's why you…

Grant finally started to put the pieces together but I cut him off, I had to finish.

- Joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Yes. Finding who I am is all that mattered. Or it just seemed to. Until I joined S.H.I.E.L.D.

- Skye, as much as I can understand why you've done all of that, I don't see why you couldn't confide in me and just tell me the truth! I opened up to you, I trusted you but you didn't even seem to value any of that. I don't just trust people that easily, Skye, but I damn trusted you.

Grant's voice got louder and louder and turned into screaming.

- And all you did was throw that away! You know the weirdest thing is that I can't even think of hating you, it just hurts too much! But you broke my heart, Skye. And right now I can't even look at you.

I grasped for air and could hardly breathe. My heart was in pieces, I was in pain, emotional pain. The things Grant has said made me feel so much worse. I could hardly understand why he couldn't hate me. I even wished he did, because it probably wouldn't hurt so much. I just kept grasping for air and it got Ward's attention, but everything got blurry and dark, and I could only see his figure, hear his voice some why full of worry and calling my name and feel his hands on my body before everything went black.

When I opened her eyes I saw Grant's face full of concern. I was lying on the floor and he was holding my head.

- What just ha…

I made an attempt to get up but he stopped me.

- You just lost your consciousness, Skye, you need to lie down.

I looked at him and wondered once more why he was so worried about me when just today he found out I've been lying and considered me some kind of a traitor. In spite of his attempt to stop me I tried to get up again but it only got him angry.

- Skye, you just fainted god knows why, you need to get checked by Simmons. And stop trying to fight me.

- Ward, I'm fine, you need to let me go.

- Oh can you even walk, you look all pale and weak! Skye, listen to me for once in your life, I'm taking you to the lab. It's an order.

- I thought you were off the clock!

- Well, it's an emergency.

I kept trying to get rid of him and go to my bunk. All of a sudden he picked me off the floor and carried me up the stairs.

- What the hell do you think you're doing? Put me down!

- I could but I can't trust you, because I know when I put you down you're going to meet the floor.

All my attempts to get away had no point. He was so much stronger than me. And I could lie to myself as much as I wanted, but I couldn't help having this feeling when he touched me that made life seem better and hell, I was enjoying it. This feeling made me want to fight, to win back his trust, to feel hopeful that everything is going to be okay in the end.

I stopped fighting and just gave in. This might be the last time I ever get to have him so close.

When Ward walked into the lab holding a very pale Skye, Fitzsimmons rushed to him immediately.

- Oh my god, Ward, what happened?

- She had some trouble breathing and just fainted right in front of me.

Said Ward, putting me on the couch. I could hear anger mixed with worry in his voice. What made him so worried, he's supposed to hate me, just as everyone else on the team. Fitzsimmons seemed to get the same worried expressions. I quickly cut in before Ward could say any more silly things.

- Oh com'on, I am perfectly fine, I'll just go to my room and lie down.

- If you will be able to reach it, of course.

Said Ward with sarcasm. He sounded very mad.

- Oh Skye, you look very pale. I have to check your vitals and run some tests. Troubles with breathing is a serious thing. Have you been experiencing any of this before?

- Yes, and it's fine! I'm okay, see?

I quickly got off the coach, ready to go but I was stopped by Ward once again. Holding me by the shoulders tightly, thus making my heart beat uncontrollably, his face right next to mine he said:

- What the fuck do you think you're doing? Have you seen how pale you are? And what exactly you don't understand of what you've just been told? Having troubles breathing is NOT FINE.

While I wondered when would he stop screaming at me, Simmons made me lie back and said to Ward.

- For a few words, please. Outside.

She seemed really pissed.

Behind the door:

- What is wrong with you, Ward? Can't you see the poor girl is not feeling well, why scream at her like that?

- Why? Because she's acting like a child? Something is obviously wrong with her but she keeps being so stubborn and says she's fine!

Seeing Ward so worried for the girl who had been lying to him and kept secrets, made her think. In spite of all the reasons not to care about her, he was worried sick, she saw it written in his face. Agent Ward was pretty much in love with his Rookie. She's never seen Ward in such a state before and it was nice to see him changed. But now was not the time to think about it.

- We'll talk later. I really need to check on Skye.

They went back where Skye was sitting on the coach, leaning back, still pale. It hurt Ward seeing her like this, not the usual cheerful Skye.

- I'm going to take your blood pressure for a start.

- I feel fine.

Skye kept being stubborn and it made Ward even more mad at her for being so careless and for lying that she was fine, he just kept pacing around the room and giving Skye the look.

- Can you stop this, please?

- Skye, you need to shut up and calm down I'm trying to measure you blood pressure here.

Said Simmons who made me lie down once more and was trying to put something around my forearm. So I just kept still, I didn't want Simmons to scream at me as well.

- You blood pressure is very high, Skye. You need to calm down.

- I told you…

Ward was about to begin his speech again when Simmons made him shut up.

- You need to calm down too, Ward! Take her to her room. She needs to rest. Don't make it any worse, please.

While they were having their discussion, I closed my eyes for some seconds and the sounds around me stopped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thank you, guys, for following this story and for reviewing! Didn't expect so many of you to read it! I hope I won't disappoint you**

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

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**Chapter 2**

When I opened my eyes, it was dark and I could feel I wasn't alone in the room. I began to stir and heard some movement somewhere close to me. It was Ward and I could feel it somehow. What was he doing there? When did I fall asleep?

- Grant?

- Skye, go back to sleep.

His voice was low and soft and I figured out he had just woke up from my movement. And he was lying right next to me, so close that it made me shiver and some strange feeling washed over me. That felt fantastic, and for a moment I forgot about all the problems. His being here with me made me wonder even more. Why was he here with me?

- What happened?

I asked tentatively, too scared he would leave me now that I've woken up.

- Well, I'm not exactly sure but it's either you passed out again or fell asleep very quickly.

- I didn't pass out! I was feeling fine!

- I'm not going to argue with you about it now, you need to rest, miss.

He said this with unusual tenderness that made me want him to embrace me, hold me tight and never let me go. Sounds very stupid but that's the way Ward makes me feel. His closeness makes me drunk.

- Can I ask you one question?

- Go ahead.

His hand slowly moved to my waist and my heart raced away.

- What are you doing here?

- Looking after you, you got me worried sick when you fainted. Simmons said that wasn't a normal thing.

- Looking after me? Seriously?

- Do you want me to leave?

That was the last thing on Earth that I wanted. I answered as fast as wind.

- NO! But that doesn't mean I'm a child that needs to be looked after.

- Can we talk about it later? You need to get some sleep.

It was useless arguing with him about it now anyway. I was happy enough that he was here right next to me, when he was supposed to hate me and not talk to me. I had so many questions on my mind. Did he forgive me or does it just seem so? How is it possible that he went from being so mad at me to being so gentle and loving (yes, it's exactly what I felt) in a matter of several hours?

- One last question. Do you hate me?

He let out a noise of irritation or something and said:

- Does it look like I do?

- No…

- Why ask it then?

- Because I can't understand! You are supposed to hate me and several hours ago you couldn't even look at me…

Grant didn't let me finish. He became very serious.

- Skye, I could never hate you. I was mad and I admit it, but I could never hate you. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way.

I was stunned. I really thought that Ward hated me after he had found out about everything.

I felt relief wash over me. There still was hope. And to think that I actually wanted to run from this plane, to hide so that I wouldn't have to see their faces filled with hate and disappointment. It would be so easy to flee and forget, but I doubt that I would ever be able to forget almost having a family. No, it would always haunt me, no matter what I did or where I went.

- Stop it.

Grant's words woke me up from my thoughts.

- What?

- You're thinking too loudly.

- Grant…

I started and after making pause to get it together, continued:

- Please forgive me for not telling the truth.

My voice was shaky and I couldn't help tears that started running down my face.

- I already did.

It made me cry even more. He tried to wipe the tears but there were too many.

- Please stop crying.

- I can't.

- Shhhh

He then tried to comfort me, and moved closer if it was even possible, and took me in his arms. It was blissful and I felt the luckiest girl in the world for having him with me. His head was right above mine and I could feel his breathing, then he whispered:

- Everything is going to be fine, Skye. I promise.

His words made me feel hopeful. Maybe there was still something left to fight for. With these thoughts, I fell asleep in his arms.

Something pinned me down to the bed. I couldn't get what but then I woke up and saw that someone was lying in bed with me. Ward.

I searched for his face and saw him looking at me. God, he's never looked at me like that before and I didn't ever want him to stop. Remembering his face the evening before made me want to disappear. Grant broke the silence.

- Morning, sunshine.

- Morning, Agent Ward.

- How are you feeling?

His expression somewhat serious, he was stroking my hair and I couldn't help noticing how gentle and caring he's become.

- But please don't tell me again that you're fine.

- Good then, because I'm feeling great!

I said smiling like an idiot, putting my arm tightly around his torso and closing my eyes.

- And I don't think I ever want to get out of bed today.

- Can't say that I want. But someone is going to go look for us in the end.

Saying that, he kissed me on the forehead and held me tighter.

- And besides, you still need to go to Simmons for a check.

- Grant…

- Stop Granting me. I can't let you just faint all over me. And what if it happens when you're on a mission?

- It won't! It doesn't happen that often.

- Oh, so you know you've been experiencing this and you didn't do anything about it?

- There's nothing I can do! And I don't really faint.

- Oh, so you know what it is, just not telling me! What is it, Skye?

He started to get mad at me again so I thought I better tell him the truth now and spare myself of any future fights on this topic.

- Oh well, I might get some asthma attacks from time to time, but it hasn't happened for a long time, I swear!

- You're suffering from asthma and telling me only now? Are you serious?

- I'm not suffering, I told you, it's very rare!

- Skye, you should have told about it earlier! You need to have an inhaler on you…

- Ward, why would I need an inhaler, I rarely get any attacks!

- Do you realize that it's dangerous? You might die from an asthma attack, Skye!

His voice suddenly became loud and I prayed that he won't scream at me again. I closed my face with my hands and sighed.

- You're impossible.

- And you're impossibly stubborn. Skye…

Removing my hands from my face, he put a hand on my cheek and said:

- I just want to protect you, for you to be safe, and when I fail, I want you to be able to protect yourself. So get ready for some serious training.

- Oh no….

- Oh yes, Skye. The right answer is 'Oh yes'. And we're starting today, can't lose any more time.

- Oh, I thought we started long ago.

- I know. But the real training starts now.

- Wait, was it not REAL training before? Ward?

He pressed his forehead to mine and sighed.

- You need to be able to take care of yourself, to fight for your life, Skye. Not be afraid to shoot someone if your life depends on it. I can't afford to lose you.

I just put my arms around his neck and said:

- You won't lose me, Grant.

To say that Coulson and the team made it pretty clear that I'm off the ops is to say nothing. So basically, all I could do is wander around the bus, eat and sleep, and oh, of course, train with Ward, which was no fun at all. I felt depressed and useless, and actually considered running away from the bus, but there was someone I couldn't think of leaving. Ward prevented me from running away. He was so focused on my training, so willing to make me a good agent that the very thought of betraying him once more hurt like hell. But I couldn't help thinking that Ward's training was useless if I was never going to become an agent. The team made me feel unwanted and that I don't belong here, Ward was too overprotective and often mad at me for doing some stupid things, so I couldn't help but think about running away. This thought occupied me during the day and at night when I couldn't sleep, too, although not that much, because Grant sneaked into my room more often than not to make sure I'm all right and stayed for the night. But all in all, all things considered, I felt miserable. I bet Ward was well aware of that, but there was nothing he could do about it. I heard him talk to Coulson about me once.

- I think it's about time you stopped treating Skye like that. She's depressed, sir.

- Well, I think it's none of your business.

- Sir, it's breaking her, I don't think she can bear it any longer. I think she's going to run.

- Then we let her.

I didn't even listen the conversation till the end. I was too mad at Coulson.

So. Coulson didn't care. The rest of the team didn't care, well, probably Ward did, but the question is how much. He seemed pretty calm saying that I was going to run. It was also striking that he knew what I thought about without ever asking.

So then why not do that and spare myself of all the misery? Maybe because you deserved all of it, Skye. I said to myself. I was sitting in an armchair deep in thoughts when I heard Ward's voice.

- Skye

- Yeah?

- You're thinking too loud.

- Sorry.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to leave the bus so bad, but couldn't leave Ward, so I was stuck. It was like being paralyzed. I didn't notice a tear making its way down my cheek until Grant wiped it away.

- I know what you're thinking about.

He sat right in front of me, then took my right hand and looked me in the eyes. All my attempts not to cry had no use, I was crying anyway because it hit me. Hard. I loved him. And if I left the bus, it would be another betrayal which he wasn't going to forgive me.

- I feel awful for even thinking about that.

Saying that, I cried even harder. He then lifted me from the armchair and sat back where I used to sit, holding me in his hands.

- It's going to be okay. I promise.

- Ward?

- Yeah?

- Would you want me to leave? For good.

- Why the hell are you asking me this question when you know all too well that I'd never let you go? You need to stop thinking of running away, Skye.

- I'm trying, I really am, but it's extremely difficult not to think about it when I can see the team doesn't need me any more.

- You think it's easy for me? I look at you every day and I see the pain you're in but I can't do anything to help you. I just wish I could take away your pain.

- No. I don't deserve it, and I don't deserve you.

He held me tight and started putting kissed all over my face.

- Don't say that. I'm not even sure I deserve you.

- You do.

- Really?

- Yup.

- And just so you know, we all miss you on the missions. No one hates you, Skye. They just need some time.

He started kissing me again, moving down my neck and I just felt ticklish. I giggled, he smiled and he just stood up and carried me to his room, making sure we weren't seen. Just as he closed the door, he pushed me to the bed and we were in the middle of something pretty amazing when someone pushed the door open. We both froze and then looked up to see who the intruder was.

It was May. Without any shock on her face or something she said in a calm voice:

- Coulson's gathering the team in 5. All the team. You two hurry up.

Then she left. She said the team, and did it just seem to me or what she meant was I'm still on the team? I was lost in thoughts and Grant, still lying on top of me, called me in a soft voice.

- Skye.

- Yeah?

- I think we need to go.

I didn't react. May walked in on us making out. Now she knows, which means Coulson is going to know too. Soon.

- Come on, Skye. Everything is going to be fine. I'm with you.

With these words, he dragged me out of the room. My heart was beating fast, cause I felt that this was a turning point for me. Something was going to happen.

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**Promise to update soon, hopefully tomorrow! xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here's the next chapter! It's a bit short, dunno why, but I'll update again tomorrow:) I hope you guysare still enjoying reading this story! xx**

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**Chapter 3**

When we came in, the rest of the team were already there. I felt my hands shake. I looked at Coulson. He had a very determined expression on his face, I couldn't read it as usual. Suddenly Grant took my hand in his, although everyone could see it, and I looked at him with a questioning look but he didn't say anything, just held my hand tight.

Coulson started speaking.

- Hello, team. You know it's been almost a month since the incident with our hacker.

I looked at my feet. He's been giving me a hard time ever since. My heart was beating even harder. I heard Ward whisper:

- Just keep breathing, Skye.

Coulson continued.

- Okay. I think it's been enough time. Skye, you can take off that bracelet. You don't need it anymore. Fitz?

He looked at Fitz who was already taking the bracelet off my hand.

I was paralyzed. So Coulson was letting me go. In a state of shock, I said:

- I'll be out of the bus in 10.

With these words I pulled my hand out of Ward's and went to the bunk as fast as I could to pack my stuff. I was on the verge of tears and didn't want anyone to see me.

I went in and locked the door. Even inside I could hear Grant's loud voice and then heard him approaching the room. I was packing frantically when I heard a loud knock on the door.

- Skye, open the fucking door!

I didn't react, just kept collecting my stuff. He went on:

- Skye, I swear to God, if you don't open the fucking door I'm gonna knock it down.

I couldn't even say anything, cause if I did, I'd start crying. So I kept still.

- Skye, for fuck's sake open the door.

- Skye, listen to me. You overreacted. Everything's fine. Open the door!

He kept knocking hard that it seemed the door was really going to come off. I gave in and opened it.

- Skye, what the hell are you doing? Nobody is letting you go! You need to calm down!

I didn't even notice I was breathing heavily. Ward screamed for Simmons.

- Simmons! Get an inhaler here! Hurry up!

- Look at me.

He held my face with both hands. Then he started comforting me, stroking my hair gently.

- Breathe. In. Out.

Simmons came with the inhaler and Ward gave it to me immediately. I made a deep inhale, then a few more and felt much better.

- Look, you didn't get it right. Coulson didn't throw you out of the team. He got you cleared for the ops. Everything is fine, okay?

I nodded and looked at him in surprise.

- I told you everything was going to be fine. But you still need to train a lot, Rookie. And you need to have an inhaler with you at all times. Understood?

I just gave him a big smile and jumped at him. He hugged me tightly and kissed me on the top of my head. Then I thought I heard something like 'That's my girl' coming from his mouth. Simmons was still standing near the door. She smiled widely and left us.

- See you later, Agent Skye.

- Did she say Agent?

I asked Ward. He pulled away so that he could see my face.

- You still have a hell of a training to do to be called an agent. And I'm not letting you go into the action until you've learnt everything on self-defense.

- But…

- Not even close. Not until you prove it to me that you are able to protect yourself.

- Boring.

Even though a little disappointed, I was so glad to be back on the team I felt ecstatic. I was smiling like an idiot, still standing in the middle of the messy messy room, Grant holding me close, my arms around his neck, our foreheads touching. I felt incredibly happy, I was actually happy whenever I was with Grant, but until this moment, I felt uneasy, scared of being thrown away by the team and not seeing Grant and the rest of them ever again. Now it was different. Nothing was bothering me.

Suddenly I remembered May walking in on us just half an hour ago. My smile disappeared. Ward tensed up.

- What is it?

- May knows!

- Well, someone was bound to find out about us. Don't you think it's time to tell everyone about our relationship?

- Are you serious? I mean are you sure you want it?

Grant smiled and kissed me softly. I almost melted in his arms.

- Why wouldn't I?

He kissed me on the forehead, on the nose, the cheeks and then looked into my eyes with determination.

- I love you, Skye. I swear I've never even loved anyone as much as I love you.

God, his words made me the happiest girl on Earth. I had no idea what made him love me, but that wasn't so relevant. I smiled through my tears.

- I love you too, Grant, so much it hurts, and I feel awfully grateful for having met you, for your trusting me, for giving me a second chance when I didn't even deserve it and for protecting me when I don't even need it…

- Well, I'd argue with you on that one.

- Oh, just shut up and kiss me!

He did just that and the kiss felt like heaven, I got so weak in the knees that he had to hold me tighter to prevent me from falling. We moved to the bed and began stripping each other quickly, then I said:

- Please make sure the door is locked I don't want anyone else walking in on us.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Don't ever call me that. Check the door.

Unwillingly, he got up and locked the door, and quickly came back to me. I pulled him close right away and kissed him with all the passion I had, cause I couldn't stay away from him, I was so madly in love.

- Can't keep your hands off me, Rookie?

- Why keep them to myself when I have you here.

- Fair point.

Saying that, his lips crashed into mine and it got silent in the bunk for a while.

Later we were just lying in bed, too narrow for the two of us but we didn't complain, Ward entwined his hand with mine, looked into my eyes and said:

- You're so beautiful.

- Stop flattering me, Agent Ward.

- I am absolutely serious.

He was looking into my eyes with so much love that I couldn't find anything to say, I just got lost in those beautiful brown eyes. The butterflies in my stomach were having a huge party.

- I think we should sleep now, because in the morning you are having an intense training.

I rolled my eyes. It was so Ward.

I moved closer to him and inhaled his smell. He put his arm around me and kissing me on the forehead said:

- Sweet dreams, Skye. I love you.

- I love you too Grant.


	4. Chapter 4

**So here is chapter 4 for you! Enjoy it, Skyward shippers 3**

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**Chapter 4**

In the morning I woke up from the kisses that Grant was putting gently on my face.

- Time to wake up, Princess.

I couldn't help smiling like an idiot. I couldn't quite understand how could one person bring on such strong feelings in me, feelings I had no idea existed.

- Five more minutes.

I mumbled, put my hand around his torso and gave out a moan of satisfaction.

- Such a sleepy head.

Grant sighed and looked at her beautiful face. He couldn't even look away from her, as if she was a magnet. She looked so peaceful, her breathing even. He never wanted to wake her, but he knew he had to. He had to train her, hard, to make her an excellent agent. He knew he couldn't afford to fail. Her life depended on his being a good SO for her. He began stroking her long hair soothingly, because it calmed him down and so that she would wake up. Ward couldn't stop wondering how this seemingly small girl managed to capture his heart and make him love her like nobody else just in a matter of several months.

- Skye.

He called her in a soft low voice. She only tightened her hold of him.

- If you don't get up now, I'll have to carry you into a cold shower. Do you want that?

No answer.

- Skye do you hear me?

- You wouldn't do this.

- What makes you so sure?

- This would be cruel, and you love me.

He decided that teasing her a little bit would wake her up.

- Apparently, our definitions of cruel vary juuuust a tiny bit.

- No way.

- Oh, yes way.

With these words, he suddenly got up and pulled me from the bed. I screamed.

- Ward! What the hell?

- Well, I think what you need is a cold shower.

Now, that was the moment the adrenalin kicked in and I got actually scared.

- Grant… Pleaaaase put me down. Please.

He looked at me, surprised by my pleading. I saw a sparkle appear in his eyes.

- Rookie, are you scared?

- No!

I quickly answered. Too soon, that was too soon. He knew.

- Afraid of cold showers? I'll keep that in mind.

Ward would never actually put her under a cold shower, he only wanted to wake her up. Skye and cold showers just didn't go together, no, she was his girl and he'd never hurt her in any way. God, she's made him go all soft, but only towards herself.

Oh no, I thought. Now I'm in trouble. And he already knows about me being ticklish. He then put me down carefully and I made a quick escape to the bathroom, meeting Fitzsimmons on my way.

- Oh, Skye… Is everything all right?

Asked Simmons first.

- Yuup.

- What's with the hair then?

Fitz. Dammit. Not answering that I proceeded to the bathroom. Now I'll be getting loads of questions from them, great!

An hour later I was waiting for Grant, or should I say my SO, in the training area. I already had bandages on my hands, so I thought I'd kick the bag while waiting. Then I felt him behind my back. I turned around and gave him a smile.

- I love it when you smile, keep it that way, Rookie. Okay, now 50 push-ups.

- Grant!

- 60 push-ups.

I made an angry noise but obeyed. The next time he'd say 70, so there was no point in complaining.

After an hour or so of suffering, I was physically drained and sweating like a pig.

- How are you feeling, Rookie?

He looked at me, looking very satisfied.

- Are you seriously asking me that? I feel like I've been hit by a car.

- Good. You can go take a shower now.

- Well thank you, Agent Ward.

With this sarcastic remark, I retreated to the shower. When I came back, we had a new case. The team was already waiting to be debriefed.

Well, it was nice to have something useful to do, and especially, to crack systems again.

- Team, today we're flying to Hawaii. Someone keeps blowing up buildings leaving no trace of any explosive device. We need to find out what might be the source of explosions as soon as possible. There's been 3 huge explosions already and there's bound to be more.

- Any possible suspects?

Asked Grant.

- Yes, there is a few.

Saying that, Coulson pointed to the pictures that started appearing on the screen.

- Skye, welcome back. You can start tracing the suspects through the base. See if they had any recent activity on Hawaii.

- Thank you, sir. I will.

- First we need to find out the device they used, it should give us more precise information on the suspect or whoever might have created it.

When Coulson finished, I moved to the computer, or should I say I bounced to the computer. Grant came to stand beside me, kissed me on the cheek and said:

- Welcome back, Rookie.

Everyone turned their attention to us, seeing Ward behaving so unusually. He didn't hesitate.

- Skye and I have an announcement for you. We are…

But he didn't get to finish his sentence, because the team finished it for him.

- Dating.

I would have chocked, had I been drinking something. My mouth wide open, I looked at Ward, clearly as stunned as me. I though only May knew.

- We thought you'd never come out of hiding!

Said Simmons, who seemed to be very excited to finally see the couple happy together. She knew it was going to happen; it was too obvious to deny their attraction towards each other.

Coulson looked very serious and just congratulated them.

- We should be in Honolulu is a few hours. Be ready.

Then when he was walking to his office, he said to Ward:

- My office.

Ward didn't know why Coulson was so serious, it's not that relationships inside S.H.I.E.L.D. were against the rules. It seemed strange that Coulson reacted like that.

- What are your intentions with Skye, Ward?

Wow, thought Grant, that was pretty straightforward.

- With all respect, sir, I don't think our relationship with Skye is any of your business…

- I said: how serious are you about her, Agent?

- Is that an interrogation?

- It could be one, if needed.

- Sir, is anything wrong? Because you've been making her feel miserable for nearly a month, and now you're asking me if I'm serious about her.

- That was a lesson for her that she needed to learn. I am asking you again, Ward, how serious are you about my… agent?

He said but hesitated a bit and Grant sensed that Coulson was acting suspicious. There was obviously something he wasn't telling them, and Ward was intending to find it out.

- I love Skye and I'm going to take good care of her. I think that's all you need to know, sir. I'll keep training her, as usual.

- Good. You hurt her I'll make you pay.

Well, this was something new. It wasn't typical of Coulson to care so much about a new team member who had been keeping secrets from the team. There was something else here. Maybe Skye knows.

- Not gonna happen.

I was in the training area when Grant came down the stairs looking confused.

- What happened?

- Coulson just threatened me.

I looked at him to make sure he was serious.

- Coulson what?

- Threatened me.

- Why would he?

- That's the question. He said if I hurt you I'd pay.

I just giggled.

- Oh, Grant, I think he was joking. He don't think he even likes me any more.

- Oh, no, he was serious. Why would he not like you? He let you stay, which means you're still important to him. What did you say to him back then when he asked you to tell the truth about being here?

- Nothing much. I showed him the files I had on me, that's all.

Grant began to think. What was the reason Coulson cared so much about Skye and why he seemed to hide it? Why not just tell the truth? Grant couldn't wait to find out. He was having more and more suspicions. One thing he was almost sure of was that Coulson knew who Skye's parents were. And if it was true, Ward wouldn't stop until he found out who they were. He wanted Skye to know the truth about her parents, she's spent too much time already trying to find out who she was.

Suddenly he remembered where he was and saw Skye staring at him.

- Welcome back.

- Back where?

- To reality.

I was wondering what it was that he was thinking about. He was suspicious about Coulson, fact, but what was there to be so concerned about anyway? It's Coulson, he has secrets.

- Seriously though, Grant. What were you thinking about?

- I have some suspicions about Coulson. That's all I can say for now.

- You can't share with me? Is that because you still can't trust me?

I asked, too scared of his answer. It would only be fair if he still didn't trust me.

- No, of course that's not why. I trust you, Skye. Did you think I didn't?

- I wouldn't blame you for not trusting me.

- Skye, look at me.

He took my face in his hands and looked me in the eyes.

- We need to put what happened last month behind. It's over. Now, do you trust me?

- With my life.

- So… Does it mean you'll obey my orders from now on?

- Well, that depends…

Then I crushed my lips into his to prevent myself from promising him to obey because it's so difficult to do so when he doesn't allow me to do anything I want. But we had to pull away for air and he still didn't forget about the damn thing.

- So do I have your word? Cause we've got another mission in an hour and I need to know that you'll be a good girl and will keep away from trouble.

Shit, could I make him a promise I couldn't possibly keep? I hesitated. I needed to think of something in-between that would leave me some freedom.

- Skye?

- I promise to behave.

- Okay. So I figure if I say 'Skye, stay in the van with Fitzsimmons' you'll do just that.

- Oh, Grant, please! What if I have to go leave the van?

- Skye, you're not ready to go into the action yet, and I've told you that already.

I started pacing around the room.

- Not even a little bit? Com'on, the previous times everything worked fine, why shouldn't it now?

- You mean that time when you couldn't pull the trigger and had to jump from the balcony?

- That was a long time ago. It's different now.

- So you CAN pull the trigger now, right?

I just put out my tongue at him and left the training area. I plunked myself on the coach and crossed my arms.

Jeez, I was so mad at him! 'I'm your SO, you have to obey' so damn frustrating.

I didn't notice Simmons approaching me.

- No need to be so mad, Skye. Ward is just trying to protect you.

Wait, did I say it out loud?

- I know that, but I do need some freedom of movement.

- It's hard to see someone you love get hurt. Ward has never acted the way he is now as far as I can tell. You've made him become overprotective. It's all new to him, but he'll come to senses.

- You know, it's weird. I'm mad at him but…

- You are grateful that he cares.

- Yes.

I smiled at her. Somehow she knew how I felt. It wasn't coming from nowhere, and I thought that soon I was going to learn more about this genius scientist. There was more to her than just the genius part.

Before the bus landed in Honolulu I went to apologize to Grant for my childish behavior. After having some time to think, I could see just how stupid I must have been and hoped that Grant wasn't too mad at me.

I found him in his bunk. I walked in, closed the door behind me and took a deep breath.

- I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for being so childish and stubborn and difficult.

- Apology accepted.

Saying that, he kept a serious face and didn't move. I figured that wasn't a good sign. I got pretty worried and asked him:

- Do you wanna say something else? Cuz it looks like you do.

He raised his head and looked at me.

- If you ask me, yes. I accept you for who you are, Skye, which means all the childish and stubborn and difficult in you. So you don't have to be sorry for who you are, because I don't want you to change. But that doesn't mean that I will stop asking you to be careful and to listen to my orders, because besides from being your boyfriend I am still your SO, and you are my responsibility. Being your boyfriend and your SO, I am trying to keep you out of harm's way and you can't blame me for that.

Hearing him say these things made me tear up a bit and think how I got to deserve this man, the first man to ever love me for who I am.

- I don't blame you. I could never blame you for caring about me.

I sat on his bed close to him and we almost touched.

- I love you.

It always made me smile like an idiot when he said these words. So I did just that and just before kissing him hard, replied:

- I love it when you say that.

* * *

**So I know I was no good at thinking of a case for them so I am sorry **

**but I wanted them to go to Hawaii, cuz this place inspires me**

**will update soon xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter, guys! I really hope that you are still enjoying reading this story... cuz I'm, still enjoying writing it:)**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

We arrived in Honolulu and left the bus to go examine the buildings that had exploded. Well, Fitzsimmons were the ones going to do that, obviously. Before we entered the first building, Grant stopped me.

- I want you to have this.

He then handed me a gun and my jaw dropped.

- But…

- Just in case.

- I don't think there will be any danger in the building that had already exploded.

- You never know. One more thing: if you have to shoot someone, don't hesitate. That's an order.

So he gave me a gun. For the first time. That was some progress. Finally we went inside and to the floor where the explosion happened. Fitzsimmons already had their drones all over the place. I said:

- What up?

- Nothing's happened during the five minutes of your absence, sorry.

Everything was burnt down and looked really creepy, I thought. I began to have a look around. I was just wandering around the rooms and saw something weird. Just as I was about to touch it I heard Grant's voice just behind my back.

- DON'T.

It actually made me jump.

- Grant! You scared me!

- You can't just touch something that you don't know and you also can't touch evidence.

- Okay, okay.

I rolled my eyes. Killjoy.

- I heard that.

Woops. Said it out loud again!

- Hey, Fitzsimmons, I found something weird here.

While the geniuses explored the weird thing and the rest were creating some theories I went to the end of the corridor or what was left of it. When I approached the last door that was still in place I heard some movement inside. I started moving back immediately and I was almost back to the main room when a blast from behind pushed me to the floor. I heard someone calling my name right after that but I couldn't hear it very well because of being a little bit deafened by the explosion. When I sat up I still could hear my name in the distance. I could distinguish Grant's worried voice some seconds later and reacted.

- I'm here!

I was trying to get up from the floor when I felt his strong hands pick me up.

- Skye, oh my god, are you okay?

I heard Simmons and the rest of the team approaching me too. All of them looked worried. I was going to say something but Ward was faster.

- God, Skye, you scared the hell out of me. Are you hurt?

He put me down back in the main room and started frantically examining my body.

- I'm not hurt, please don't worry. The blast didn't hit me, I swear.

His eyes darkened and still not letting his hold of me he said:

- Skye. Why the hell did you go there? Alone.

Everyone seemed to stop what they had been doing and were looking at me. Grant was kneeling in front of me, looking intently with the same worried expression on his face. God, I hated making him worried.

- I was just looking around! It's not that it is so far away! It's on the same floor! I didn't know someone else was there until I was near the end of the corridor! Then I instantly turned back to go and call you!

- Wait, someone was there?

Asked Coulson, coming closer to me.

- Well, apparently, yes, it seemed so, I heard some movement in the room.

- Someone was destroying evidence. Agent Ward and I are going to check the room, then, Fitzsimmons, you go and see what's left there.

As Grant was about to go he said to me:

- Sit here and don't move until I come back.

It's not that I could actually go somewhere, I still had a ringing in my ears from the loud sound of the blast. I began asking Fitzsimmons questions about what they've already found. Fitz said that the device that was used was probably made that way so as no one could say what caused the explosions. They were still working on this, trying to figure out the possible device, but it was definitely a new invention.

Grant came back pretty fast and Fitzsimmons took off to the room taking their much valued equipment with them. Ward and I stayed together for a while.

- Did you hit you head?

- No, I told you already. I was pretty far away when it went off.

- You seem a bit disoriented.

- I have some ringing in my ears from the blast. That's all. Grant, I swear I'm fine.

He sat right beside me and took my hand in his.

- Never do anything like that again.

- I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything like that to happen.

- I shouldn't have left you on your own. If you had been any closer to…

- Oh, please, you can't blame yourself for something I was stupid enough to do!

He was going to object but Coulson came back informing us that we were going to check the second building.

So after seeing another burnt building Fitzsimmons made a conclusion that the device was so small but nonetheless so powerful that it could leave no trace of itself. Still, they were trying to find at least some basic information on its nature. I was getting nowhere with the suspects so I had to ask them:

- Soooo do you know any psychos who might have used the device? Or at least who could have created it? Anything? That might help me in shortening the list of suspects.

Fitz replied:

- Well, this device is quite cool, actually. Its main advantages is that it's very small and can be just thrown on the floor and no one will notice, and it can be also controlled distantly. I think I know exactly who created the device.

Coulson, Grant and I asked in unison:

- WHO?

Fitz projected a picture and some basic info from his tablet and said:

- Dr. Kealoha, chemical engineer, he used to work for the government but got fired for getting involved in a series of crimes, received a suspended sentence. Since then, he is believed to be creating various devices for huge sums of money. He's quite a genius, I have to say.

I couldn't help interfering:

- So he's from Hawaii then? But why is he not in prison for making these devices if they are obviously dangerous?

- Yes, he is a Hawaiian, he was born Kahalui and spent his childhood in Hawaii, but left the state when he turned 18 and haven't been back since.

I was already checking Kealoha's recent activity on my laptop and said:

- Not until last week. He arrived from Chicago to Honolulu International Airport and stayed in Hawaii Prince Hotel in Waikiki. Actually, he's still in Hawaii, he hasn't left yet.

- We need to get him. Maybe he's still at the hotel.

We arrived at the hotel in about 30 minutes. Coulson, May and Ward were getting ready to storm the hotel room. After a lot of thinking, I decided to ask Grant about going with them, just in case.

- Can I…

Grant didn't let me finish.

- NO. You stay in the van with Fitzsimmons and watch the security cameras.

- Yes, sir.

I just wished I was ready for combat already. I was kind of bored by staying in the van almost all the time.

I got access to the hotel cameras and ran facial recognition. There was no sign of Dr. Kealoha, which meant that he was either in the room or not in the hotel at all. But he didn't leave the building in the morning, so he was probably in his room.

When they left, I was watching them on the cameras. I saw them enter the room and then heard Coulson's voice in my ear:

- He's not here.

But just as he said that, I saw the suspect leaving the neighboring room.

- He just left the neighboring room and moving towards the elevator!

They rushed after him but didn't get in time to the elevator. They had to take the stairs. When they got to the ground floor I saw the man getting off the elevator on the first floor.

- Guys, he is on the first floor.

I heard Ward sigh in annoyance.

- Son of a bitch.

- He's moving down the corridor to another set of stairs. I think he's going to take the emergency exit!

They ran up the stairs to the next floor and then to the stairs that the suspect took but unfortunately he managed to exit the hotel and got outside. I saw him move in the direction where we had parked our van and my heart started beating fast. It was now or never, I still had that gun that Ward had given me, all I had to do is get out of the van and shoot the suspect in the leg or something so that we wouldn't miss him.

So I acted fast, opened the door and got outside. I could hear Fitzsimmons calling my name and then the others asking what happened in my ear but I was too distracted to actually listen to them, or better say, too concentrated on the task.

I saw him immediately. He was about to disappear round the corner, so I shot him in the leg and ran after him. He was still trying to run, but very slow. I didn't want to shoot once more, so I screamed to him:

- Stop! Or I'll shoot you in the other leg!

I hoped he didn't have a gun. He stopped and turned to me slowly. I kept my fingers on the trigger, ready to shoot again if needed.

That was when Ward and Coulson appeared from behind my back. Both of them weren't pleased with what they saw.

Ward took the gun away from me, took me by the arm and literally pulled me towards the van while Coulson handcuffed the suspect.

- With you, we're going to have a serious conversation later.

By the sound of his voice I could tell he was pretty mad and that I was in trouble. But I didn't regret going after the suspect. Because I could and I did. Ward was going to have to deal with that.

Back on the bus, Simmons removed the bullet from the suspect's leg and Grant took him for interrogation. Coulson looked at me and said:

- Skye. For a few words.

I wondered why AC looked so annoyed. I got the suspect for them. If it hadn't been for me they would have probably missed him. If they had, where would they be searching for him then? No need for anyone to be mad at me. No need at all. I've done them a favor. And besides, shooting bad guys felt like fun.

- Yes, sir.

- Skye. Did you hear Ward asking you not to leave the van?

- Yes, but…

- Well, why did you disobey his order?

- The suspect was just running past the van, what should I have done? Let him escape?

- Yes! You're not ready for combat yet!

- But he wasn't armed!

- How did you know that? Even if he wasn't, that doesn't mean he was not dangerous!

- Well, you saw it for yourself! Everything went just fine!

- This time it did. But next time you might end up injured, or even worse, dead!

Coulson's voice got higher and we started getting concerned looks from May and Fitzsimmons. I hesitated before replying.

- But I hit him right where I wanted, at first attempt! You have to say, I was good! I'm making progress, I'm going to be fine!

- Skye, you won't be making any progress if you continue disobeying orders. You're lucky you're not dismissed from this mission. Or dead.

With these words, he walked away. I thought if I could really be dead if something had gone wrong. Of course not.

I took a deep breath. The conversation with Grant won't be any easier.

When Grant finished interrogating Dr. Kealoha, he got back looking very angry and upset, because the man didn't know whom he sold that device to. I had an idea.

- Ask him how he delivered the device. He must have handed it over to someone. If they met somewhere public, maybe I could trace the one who got it from him.

That helped. The evil genius told us where he handed over his device and I was able to get a good image of the man who took the suitcase with the device. I ran him through the S.H.I.E.L.D. database and quite luckily, we got a match. This man turned out to be involved in a criminal organization based in Hawaii, which made it clear who bought the device.

All I could get from the camera feed is the license plate of the car that the dude who got the suitcase was driving. May said:

- We need to find that car. Maybe they are still using it.

- You tell me. I'm doing my best to find it.

I answered, working hard to track the freaking car with GPS. After about half an hour of trying I said:

- Got ya!

* * *

**Next chapter soooooon xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Soooo here is the next chapter for you! I must say, I got really obsessed with writing this thing. Can't stop. Enjoy this chapter, guys!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

- Did you get its present location?

- Yep! And also where it's been to before.

I looked at Grant and smiled widely. I was obviously proud of myself. And I also hoped that he had forgot about that conversation. Although that was highly improbable, of course.

- So right now the car is on the North shore, in some place called Waialua. These names are really weird.

- Okay, Ward, May, you're going with me to take down whoever might be there. Hopefully, we'll find the man who bought the device.

I didn't really want to stay on the bus, I've been craving field work lately. Being with Ward and doing the training must have changed me, because I don't remember wanting to be around men with guns and stuff like that before S.H.I.E.L.D. That's funny, I thought.

- What about me? You need me! You might need to hack their system…

Each of the three sent me a glare, and considering that I was in trouble already for getting out of the van, I had to shut up. Ward said:

- You can do all of that from here. So you'll stay here with Fitzsimmons…

Before he finished I said:

- And that's an order. Yes, sir.

- When we get back, I'm having that conversation with you, Skye.

Perfect, just perfect.

When they left, Fitzsimmons approached me right away. Still shocked after what had happened when I suddenly got out of the van, they began blubbering like they always do. The British, I thought.

- Skye, what were you thinking when you just left the bus and went after the suspect?

- You could have been shot and we could do nothing about it! We didn't have any guns!

Simmons started, Fitz continued and then it was almost impossible to tell who said what.

- Skye, you scared us so much! Don't do that again, please.

- Yes, Skye, that wasn't thoughtful of you to do that without even explaining everything.

Finally I thought I should really apologize for having scared them. I didn't realize they were affected so much.

- I'm really sorry for scaring you, guys. That wasn't my intention, I swear! I just wanted to help the team and be helpful, for once.

That was Simmons who reacted first, looking worried.

- Oh my God, Skye. Did you think you were not helpful?

- Of course. I WASN'T helpful. At all. Since that time when I…

- SKYE!

Fitz cut in.

- You ARE helpful, you're doing your job. Hacking. Hacking is your only job until you're actually allowed in the field.

- But…

- And it's not worth risking your life when you think you're not needed, because you're always be needed, you are part of this team. Remember that.

- Well, but you seemed to manage just fine without me! For a month!

- Who told you it was easy? Fitz could hardly get access to stuff! We asked Coulson to allow you back on the team several times, but he always said you needed to learn a lesson.

I was shocked. I thought they managed just fine. I thought I might need to leave… I said in a low voice:

- I thought you hated me.

- That's ridiculous! We all wanted you back so much! Coulson ordered us to stay away from you as much as possible and give you some space. Ward was going crazy, of course, he knew it was very hard for you, he was really worried! Even May, although she'd never admit that, was missing you. I could see it in her face. Skye, we all got so used to you! We are one team! And we want you to know how much we CARE!

I took a seat and looked at them, my eyes wide.

- I wish I knew that. I was in a really dark place. If it hadn't been for Ward… I swear, I wouldn't even be here right now…

Fitz looked confused:

- What do you mean?

- I would have left the bus. It was unbearable.

- Oh my God, Skye! We are so sorry you had to feel that way!

She came closer and hugged me tightly, then Fitz did the same.

- I deserved it though, I totally did. I should have told you earlier that I wanted information on my parents that S.H.I.E.L.D. had redacted.

They both looked baffled.

- Didn't Coulson tell you about that? The reason I joined the team.

- No! And he should have! We didn't know what to think!

- Sorry.

- Don't be. After all you didn't really betray us.

- Oh, no I did! I've done something I'm not proud of! I shouldn't have done anything behind your back. I know it was wrong! I regret every single thing and I'm so grateful I am still here.

Suddenly, I heard Ward's voice in my ear.

- Skye. We need your help.

- I'm here. Do you need me to get access to the doors or something?

- Yes, Rookie.

- Working on it!

After 20 minutes or so, I heard Ward swear.

- The motherfucker got away. We have some of his men though. And one woman.

Coulson and May were arguing about something but after a while I could distinguish something like 'We're going to interrogate them until they tell us everything they know'. Fitz managed to ask:

- Do you have the suitcase where the device is supposed to be?

- Just the suitcase. The asshole took the device with him.

May concluded:

- We have a big problem. He might burn down something else. Hell knows where.

I said:

- Get back here for now. I need to run his photo through the facial recognition. He must have been seen somewhere, cameras are almost everywhere now, so there's no way he could have been unnoticed.

- We'll be there in 20.

Wait what? 40 miles in 20 minutes? May!

So they got back and Coulson took May to interrogate the 5 people that they brought on the bus. I started running facial recognition though the whole state. Ward called me for the promised 'talk'. I was trying to give him a pouty face and to look as innocent as possible, but he wasn't buying any of that. He was as determined and serious as when he found me with the gun pointed at the doctor.

- Skye, I have no idea how I can make you understand that the stupid things you're doing all the time are dangerous for someone who doesn't have a proper training to be in the field. I swear you scare the crap out of me when you do that.

- Well, I'm sorry I'm such an ass to you then! But what I did today, it was right and I don't regret it! I stopped the suspect! Who was about to disappear! How would you have found him then? I had a gun, I shot him in the leg, NOTHING was going to happen to me!

I didn't notice how I started screaming. Ward was even louder.

- SKYE! You didn't even THINK about it! That man could have been armed! Or he could have attacked you! FUCK, you are NOT READY for combat, exactly what part of it you don't get? You were lucky not to get hurt today! What if you did? Did you think of that?

- No! No I didn't! I just wanted to help you guys to catch the suspect! I felt it was the right thing to do!

- Oh, you ALWAYS have to do the right thing!

- I've made enough mistakes already and doing the right thing is all I can do to make up for it!

I could hardly keep tears from falling. My voice got shaky and I knew it made Grant get less harsh. I shut up and it got silent.

He moved to stand right in front of me and took me by the shoulders.

- Skye…

I was too upset, so I shook his hands off my shoulders and said:

- Don't touch me.

Saying that in a hardly audible voice and almost crying, I retreated to my bunk. I didn't want him to see me cry once again.

- Skye. Skye, don't go… I'm sorry.

He was after me, but I quickly reached my bunk and closed the door. Immediately I thought that it was so childish and I was a grown-up, and I knew he was behind the door. As hard as I tried not to cry and happened anyway. I knew he heard my sobbing and I couldn't bear it. I wiped away the tears (or tried to) and told myself not to be such a child. With determination, I opened the door and threw myself at him. He held me tight for I don't know how much time and then said.

- I'm sorry.

- No. You don't have to be sorry for every time I act like a child. I KNOW how it makes you feel. And I KNOW how much you want to protect me. But sometimes I can't help thinking, what's the point of having me on the team. Do you remember our second mission when you said…

- God, Skye, that was so long ago! I didn't know you and I was mad at Coulson for taking you in! I wasn't objective! Listen to me, Coulson didn't take you on the team for nothing in the first place. He took a risk, because you're brilliant at computers and hacking systems. And it was a risk that proved worth taking. Then, after our second mission, I decided to train you for the field, to teach you how to survive. That was totally my idea. But until you are ready, you're helpless, which makes your going into the field worthless and extremely dangerous, because you are more valuable to us alive. I need you to be safe, because God knows, I can't lose you.

- What if staying in the van gets life-threatening?

- That's another thing.

- Okay.

- Okay?

- Yes. I get it. Won't happen again. I promise.

I looked into his eyes with a totally serious expression. I was determined to play by rules now.

- Thank God, I finally got through to you! Now, let's go. We still have the mission to complete.

He put his arm around me, kissed me on the forehead and we went back to where the rest of the team was. I bet they could hear our argument pretty well though, although they tried to pretend they hadn't.

I looked at the screen. There was a match.

- Oh God.

- What is it? You have a match?

- Yes! He's entering Windward Shopping Centre in Kaneohe.

Everyone was shocked and kept silent. Coulson reacted first.

- Ward and May, get ready, we're leaving in 5 and we might need reinforcement. QUICK!

- Skye, where is the suspect right now?

- He is inside and I think he's having a look around!

Fitz cut in:

- He is looking for a place to leave his genius bomb! You guys need to catch him before he does that. Because it's small and hard to find, and controlled distantly. You don't want him to throw it somewhere on the floor.

- Thanks, Fitz, that was very reassuring.

When the team, to be precise Coulson, Ward and May, got to the shopping center, they realized they were screwed. There were too many people there. If that bomb went off, that would be a total catastrophe. They had to catch that asshole before something terrible happens.

Coulson asked me:

- Skye, where is he?

- Ground floor, turn left after you go inside, he's near Victoria's secret.

- Okay, so May, you go there, pretend to be a customer and have a look at him. We need to be careful.

- Sure.

May left and Ward asked:

- So what's the plan, sir?

- We'll see. Skye? Is there any kind of balcony where the suspect is? Somewhere to shoot from?

After a pause I answered:

- Yes, sir.

Coulson looked at Ward and smiled:

- Night-night gun.

Ward went back to the car to retrieve Fitzsimmons' miracle of engineering and bio-chemistry. Coulson said to May:

- May, you need to make an impression of an actual customer. Buy something.

- No problem.

Five minutes passed and I saw May leave the store.

- Lingerie, May, really?

She asked in her usual calm and impartial voice:

- Is that a problem?

- Nooope.

Ward got back with the rifle and AC said:

- Okay, team! Time for action. Ward, you go upstairs and take position, May you need to start a conversation with the suspect. He needs to be in a position for Ward to shoot him in the forehead. You know what to do.

As may was approaching the man she asked Ward:

- Ward. Are you in position?

- Yes.

- Try to be fast.

She got close to him and spoke:

- Excuse me, sir, I seem to be totally lost in here.

She looked around as if she was really lost and continued:

- I'm so sorry for bothering you but… could you tell me if there is a bank somewhere here?

Ward waited till he turned his heard in his direction, and after May's question the man started turning his head slowly. Ward had his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. Then the suspect looked in his direction and just when he saw him, Ward didn't hesitate and shot him. He fell on the floor and it captured people's attention. They started gathering around but May wasn't in the mood, so just showed her badge and made everyone go back to do whatever they'd been doing. Simple and fast.

May was already checking all his pockets when Coulson and Ward joined her.

- Does he have it?

- Here it is.

She took the small thing from the jacket inside pocket.

- And what about the controls? Fitzsimmons?

Fitz said:

- I suppose it should look like a simple console, small and with a button or something.

May looked a few more pockets and pulled something out.

- Got it. I guess the mission is complete.

Coulson smiled his usual smile.

- Great job, team.

May even gave Ward a high five.

I smiled and hugged Simmons. Fitz gave me a high five. I finally felt like I belong.

Later when Grant May and Coulson got back on the bus I managed to convince Coulson that not staying here for another day would be completely unforgivable. It also turned out to be pretty easy. All I got to do is tell AC about the beautiful beaches, surfing, food and much fun and give him my pouty face and the job was done.

So late in the evening Grant and me were walking hand in hand on the beach in Honolulu and I felt blissfully happy.

- I guess we can call it our first proper date.

I stopped to kiss him on the lips. He smiled and put his arms around my waist pulling me close.

- A bit too late for a first date, don't you think?

- Oh, well, you never take me anywhere.

- Sorry for being such a bad boyfriend.

- This place is perfect though.

I sat down on the sand and pulled him with me. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

- I feel like I could spend all my life here.

- Woow, are you thinking of settling down, Rookie?

He asked me jokingly.

- Well… When I do settle down, it's going to be in Hawaii. So I'm afraid you have no choice.

- And this means…

- I'll drag you here with me even if you refuse to come.

- That sounds threatening.

I quickly got on my feet and said, before running away as quick as I could:

- Catch me!

He reached me in under 10 seconds and scooped me up so unexpectedly that I screamed. I kicked and tried to break away as hard as I could but it was pointless.

- WARD! Let me go!

He help me tight and started planting kissed on my neck. I giggled.

- Next time you should run faster.

- Put me down.

- Nope.

He started walking, still not letting me go.

- Tomorrow we are having a run on the beach in the morning. No objections accepted.

With these words he put me on the ground.

- You gotta be kidding me.

I was looking at his face, searching for signs wishing that he wasn't serious. But it was Grant Ward after all, and I could see he was totally serious.

- I'm serious. 8 AM. You, me and the beach.

Oh no. I just made it all worse. Ward was totally going to do it.

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**That's it, the mission is completed! I'm going to put some Hawaii heaven into the next chapter, I just have a soft spot for this place! xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 for you! mostly Skyward fluff here, considering that they are in the heavenly place called Hawaii, BUT things are heating up! read and enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7**

- You know, you were right. Coulson is acting kinda weird indeed.

I said to Grant as we were lying in bed, his fingers playing with mine.

- So what happened?

He said quietly, his hand entwining with mine.

- Well, let's say, before you talked some sense into me after the getting-out-of-the-van incident, he was trying to do the same…

- What did he say?

- A lot of things. He said I could be dead…

Grant tensed up. The very thought of anything like that frightened him out of his mind.

- Even if it was his way of scaring you he should have never said it.

- I didn't get scared. I knew I wouldn't…

- Can we not talk about death now?

He said sharply and I felt him tighten his hold on me.

- Okay.

- Sleep, Skye. You'll need a lot of energy tomorrow.

- I don't even doubt it, SO.

So in the morning Grant woke me up like he'd been waking me up most of the time now, with soft kisses, and every time he woke me up like this I knew that no matter what happened that day, we were going to be just fine. He made me hope for better things.

- Skye, time to wake up.

He murmured into my ear and I smiled lazily, my eyes still closed. I loved the sound of his voice so much. I got butterflies every time he said something in that soft and gentle voice filled with love that I knew was meant just for me.

- Wake up, princess, time for your run.

I only hid my face under the cover.

- Princesses don't run.

- Okay. If you want it the hard way…

Unexpectedly, he started tickling me under the cover. I squeaked and giggled.

- Aaah, Grant, nooooo.

- You promised me a run on the beach, Rookie. So get up!

- Ahhh, stop! Okay, okay, okay!

I removed the cover and smiled at him.

- But you'll have to carry me to the shower. NOT cold shower.

- That won't be a problem…

He said looking at me with passion in his eyes. He grabbed me quickly and to the shower we went (he went, I mean), not caring whether anyone was watching us or not.

We've been running for about 20 minutes and I already got tired and could hardly keep up with Grant, considering that he wasn't running fast. I was short of breath and, noticing that, he said:

- Now, you need to get slower, gradually, and then walk, but do not stop abruptly.

I started getting slower, Grant keeping my pace. It was also too hot for running, although it was still morning.

- You okay, Rookie?

He asked me with a concerned look on his beautiful face.

- I'll be fine.

- I should ban the word 'fine' so that you start to actually tell me how you feel.

- Sorry. It's not what you think. It's just when I don't know what to say I just use this word. If I felt unwell, I'd tell you right away.

- I count on that.

We continued running in a slow pace for another half an hour or so, then I was completely not able to go any further. We came to a stop slowly. I put my hands on my knees and took a couple of deep breaths.

- You did great today.

- You owe me one. We'll start with breakfast.

Before we went to have breakfast, I quickly got rid of my clothes, Grant looking quite shocked and at a loss, and went for a swim in the ocean. Ward followed me into the water, getting rid of his clothes even faster.

The ocean felt amazing. I haven't had a swim since the time I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., which was a long time ago. So I planned to enjoy it to the fullest and Grant being right here beside me made it the best swim I ever had. I felt truly blessed to have him in my life.

When we were having breakfast in a place called The Original Pancake House, Grant asked me about Coulson again and I wondered for a while why this troubled him so much.

- So did you notice any more weird things about Coulson lately?

- Well… He let us stay here without very much as thinking when I asked him. I thought I'd have to ask him on my knees.

- He's gone too soft on you.

- On ME? God, no. I think he's just changed. It's Coulson, com'on, he's always been a bit strange.

- Whatever you say, I find all of it a little bit odd.

Coulson wasn't what I was thinking about at that time. So I didn't get to think much on this matter. I couldn't wait till we went to the beach. I wanted to lie in the sun like I've never wanted before. Sun, beach and the ocean, and Grant, apparently, was everything that I needed at that exact moment. So drinking the rest of my juice, I said:

- Can we go to the beach now?

Seeing Skye so happy and enthusiastic made Grant happy too. She was his girl, and he's seen her suffer enough lately. So today he was going to do everything she wants him to do, not that it was any different on any other day, the exception made only situations where he had to put her safety above her happiness, which was a damn hard thing to do. Skye didn't have to know about this weakness of his, of course.

Today she wore a light flower dress that suited her perfectly, her beautiful long hair were hanging down her shoulders and he couldn't look away from her. He had to touch her.

So when they left the pancake house, he stopped and, still holding her by the hand, kissed her. God knows it was a torture for him to keep his hands and his lips away from her. When we had to pull away for air, she just had to tease me.

- Can't keep your hands away from me, Agent Ward?

She smiled and bit her lip in that Skye way. It made Grant want to push her against the wall and devour her right there and then but he restrained himself from doing it right there and then.

- You just keep asking for trouble, Rookie.

He then took her left hand and took her to the beach.

- See, princess, I'm taking you to the beach. No need to say that I never take you anywhere.

- Well, thank you, prince Charming.

We lied on the beach and had an occasional swim for the most part of the day. I began wondering what the other members of the team could be doing.

I bet Fitzsimmons went to see some genius invention, because I swear they found this stuff everywhere. I could imagine them having another Fitzsimmons style argument and smiled. They were adorable, and they were inseparable, just like me and Grant have become. I've had thoughts about them as a couple more and more now, seeing their perfect dynamics every day. It seemed they were made for each other. Maybe they ARE together already, just not telling anyone about it. I wanted to know and I was going to unveil this cute couple of geniuses. I smiled once more and Grant noticed.

- Why are you smiling like that?

- Like what?

- Like… like you know a huge secret.

HOW did he know that? I swear sometimes I think he can read my thoughts.

- How are you doing that?

- What?

- Reading my thoughts?

- Oh, that's an art.

- No, Grant, seriously.

- I just can see though you.

- Grant!

I exclaimed and he looked at me with so much love I thought I'd die.

- What? Is it so strange? I know you more than anyone else does. I know the expression of annoyance you have when I say 'No' to you, I know how you look like when you hide something, when you're happy or when you're distressed or when you feel sad and when you suffer. I know all these things because I love you.

- I love you too. And just so you know, I know you're not telling me something, but I am going to ask. Later.

- So what was that you were thinking about?

- Oh. Fitzsimmons. I bet they're in some science center right now or something. And I also think that they are hiding something huge from us, I can feel their chemistry. It won't take me long to find out.

- Oh I believe you are absolutely right about them.

We both smiled wickedly and turned to lie on our backs.

In the evening we met the rest of the team and went to a restaurant by the beach for dinner. Everyone looked relaxed and in a good mood. I swear when I looked at Melinda smiling at us I didn't believe my eyes and had to ask Grant if we saw the same thing. Well, I guess she just needed a small Hawaiian holiday. Coulson was sitting by her side looking very pleased. Fitzsimmons were very bouncy and full of joy. So I had to ask and see if I was right about their activities.

- You guys been to some science thingy or something?

Simmons didn't hesitate to answer right away:

- Oh, yes, Fitz and I visited Hawaii Water Science Center…

- And then Hawaii Academy of Science! That was fantastic you see…

So yeah, they started blabbering in their own language again and I couldn't follow. I looked out on the beach. It was so peaceful there, I could hear the sound of the ocean and it calmed me down and made me relax. Grant took my hand and led me to the beach, leaving AC and May with Fitzsimmons who still couldn't shut up about their eventful day of science.

I love them to bits and everything but listening to them talk science is way too much for me. And for Grant, too, obviously.

On the beach I leaned against Grant and we stood like that watching the waves I don't know for how long. I didn't want this moment to end, I wished we could just stay here for a while at least and enjoy each other's company.

- Are you cold?

- No.

- You're shivering.

He turned me to face him and embraced me to keep me warm. I put my arms around his body and breathed in his smell, now mixed with the smell of the ocean. After a while I whispered:

- I could stay like that forever.

- I certainly wouldn't mind that.

He said and kissed my head.

- Can I ask you one question?

- Go ahead.

- When exactly will I become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?

- That depends on how fast you learn.

- And what do YOU think, SO?

- I'd say maybe 6 months.

I pulled away and looked at him. SIX months? That's not soon. I'll be bored out of my mind in six-months' time.

- Is that the minimum?

- I should think so. I won't have you in the action any earlier.

- Cool.

I said with sarcasm.

- You can entertain yourself with your laptop that you won in a bet until then, isn't it what you always do?

- Oh you're so generous, Agent Ward. And you know, the laptop and the hacking is not enough anymore.

He looked at me with surprise.

- And how is that, Rookie?

- Being on the team and seeing all the exciting stuff, you know, going into the field, seeing things I thought impossible, has made me crave for more.

- Well, that's interesting.

He smiled and I swear I heard him laughing silently. I was going to ask him what was so funny there, but Fitzsimmons approached us from behind.

- Well, isn't this place wonderful?

I turned around and saw them, Leo's hand on Jemma's waist, they looked adorable. I smiled thinking that there is definitely something going on between those two. I thought I should talk to Ward about them. I said:

- Oh I absolutely love this place! I wish we could stay…

- Oh well, we were lucky enough to have a whole day here, Rookie. Oh, and Fitz, could you entertain Skye for a bit, I need to ask Simmons something.

- Sure, mate, no problem there.

I looked up at Grant questionably, wondering why he wouldn't just ask it here and now, why he was so secret. He only said that he'd explain it later and they went closer to the ocean. The whole time they were talking I couldn't help looking at them more often than not, although Leo tried to distract me as much as he could.

When Grant and Jemma were far enough from the others, she looked at him worriedly and asked:

- Is something wrong?

- I should think so. I need to ask you to do something for Skye. But she can't know about it.

- What do you mean? You said it was for Skye.

- Just listen. Do you have Coulson's blood sample, DNA or something?

- Yes, of course. Why?

- And you also have Skye's?

- Yes! So?

- I need you to run them for a match.

- What?

She exclaimed and Ward saw Skye turn her head in their direction. Jemma looked stunned.

- I have a strong suspicion that Coulson is Skye's father and that he knows that already but he's not telling it to anyone. Maybe he told May, but…

- Are you serious? Oh my God!

- But please, Jemma, don't talk about it to anyone. I want to be sure, and if it's true, I want Skye to know. She's been searching for her parents for too long.

- I promise, no one is going to find out. You have my word.

- Even Fitz.

Jemma only pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

- He can't know! Half of the team can't know about this until Skye knows! And even worse, Fitz could just spill the beans!

- Okay, maybe you're right. I'll do it when I get back to the lab and we should have the results tomorrow. Don't worry.

- Thank you, Jemma! I don't know what I'd do without you.

Ward couldn't not notice that Skye was watching them almost all the time. When he got back to her he could feel the tension. He was going to have to think of something to tell her until he got the results. Or maybe he could ask her to trust him and wait? Lying to her wasn't a thing he wanted to do. He never wanted to lie to her.

I got really worried and tensed up by the time we got back on the bus. I knew Ward could feel it. He kept looking at me as if to check if I was fine. I certainly wasn't. This day was what I could call the best day of my life, not to count the day I met Grant and the team, but right now the day suddenly got worse. I knew he was keeping something from me and I didn't like it. I didn't want to ask myself, I wanted to wait until he tells me himself, but it got harder and harder to do so, so when we were alone again in the living area, my patience ran out.

- Are you going to tell me what you are so secret about?


	8. Chapter 8

**The longest chapter so far! Soooo the secret is out! enjoy reading it guys! and thank you all for following, favoriting and reviewing! I really really appreciate it! :)**

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**Chapter 8**

Grant looked at me and he looked so thoughtful I thought I could hear him think.

- Grant, what's going on?

- Okay. I was going to tell you that it was nothing important but I decided I'd just ask you to wait.

He got me totally confused, was he going to lie to me but instead decided not to tell me anything at all?

- Wait? What is it supposed to mean? Make me shut up and not ask any questions?

- Skye. Just listen to me, will you?

He took my hands in his and looked me in the eyes.

- There is something I need to be absolutely sure of before I tell it to you. So you'll need to wait until I am 100 per cent sure I am right. Can you trust me with that?

I was disappointed. Yes, I trusted him with my life. I loved that man, more than life itself. But knowing that he is not telling me something important sucked and got me angry and upset.

- I trust you, but I don't understand why would you want to keep something from me.

Saying these words in a low voice, I left him there and went to my bunk.

- And please, don't follow me. I need to be alone.

I felt so offended by his words, although I knew I could trust him and that he'd never keep anything from me unless he really had to, I wanted to be alone and think, moreover, I didn't want him to see how disappointed I was, though he obviously had seen it already. I had mixed feelings.

What could it possibly BE? Only he and Jemma knew, as far as I understood. There was no way to find out, as far as I could see. First, I'm sure Jemma wouldn't say a thing. Second, if I found it out on my own when Grant asked me to trust him and wait would be mean and not right, and I would just betray his trust once again, which was the one thing I'd never forgive myself for. So there was no use in trying to find the truth, because I trusted him and I knew I was going to know anyway. So the question is… What am I so mad about. Right.

Control. I had no control.

I hated that I had to ask him to stay away, as much as I hated to stay away from him. And after lying in my bed, turning and tossing, thinking, for hours, I realized there was no way I was going to fall asleep. I felt miserable, and something was missing, or someone. I haven't slept without Grant by my side for months. I wanted him, I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and to feel safe again. I almost started crying. But instead I got up and left my bunk.

I stood near his door looking at it for quite some time before I slowly opened it and sneaked inside. My heart was beating fast, I needed him so much but was worried he'd probably be mad at me.

I knew he wasn't asleep. Slowly I got to his bed not saying a word and squeezed myself in between him and the wall.

He wrapped his arm around my waist immediately and whispered, holding me close:

- It's about time.

So I realized that he must have been waiting for me to chill and come to him, and I thought just how much I loved him. I reached my hand and put it on his cheek, then kissed him softly and whispered:

- I'm sorry. I love you. I love you so much.

- I love you too, Skye.

I wrapped my right hand around his neck and buried my face in his chest. I fell asleep instantly, feeling happy and safe in his arms.

The next day I decided to suck it up and not to ask him any questions until he is ready to tell everything himself. Having nothing to do, I was going to do the thing that I couldn't wait to do: Fitzsimmons.

After having breakfast, I found Leo watching some scientific thing on TV in the living area. I sat beside him, pretending to be interested in the program at first, then I started teasing him.

- So, what's that thingy between you and Jemma?

- Thingy?

- Yeah or whatever you two call it. I can see it and I'm sure, absolutely sure that the others can see the same thing I can see.

- Skye, what are you talking about?

Fitz asked me, looking all innocent but I knew he was only pretending.

- Ah, com'on, Fitz, there's no need to hide it. You know, you and Jemma, all the holding hands and looking at each other with these loveballs and being all cute and sweet…

- So what are you driving at?

- Oh, Fitz.

I smiled at him and after a while of glaring at him, said:

- Do you think I'm an idiot?

- What? Of course no, I never said that!

- Good. I just want you and your girlfriend to know that I KNOW.

I emphasized the last two words and kept looking him right in the eyes.

- Skye? You really confuse me.

I thought: he didn't even correct me that she was his girlfriend. So I'm on the right way. They ARE dating behind our backs. I just couldn't wait for them to go official, I mean they can't hide forever.

- I am watching you, Fitz. I KNOW.

I made a sign pointing my two fingers between my eyes and his and walked away, trying to make an impression. I was determined to unveil these two. Jemma was next.

While Skye was trying to make Fitz suffer, Ward had a very important thing to do. He went to the lab and Simmons was already there. He couldn't help but feel worried. He wanted it for Skye so bad, to know the truth.

- Jemma?

He entered and she said with determination.

- It's done.

She turned to look at him, but he still couldn't tell the answer by the way she looked at him.

- Are you ready? There will be no way back.

- I've been ready for a while. Just spill it out.

- Oookay. So I ran Coulson's and Skye's DNA for a… a match… and…

She was clearly hesitating. And very slow. Ward was about to freak out.

- And what?

- And they matched. Coulson is Skye's biological father. You were right. Who could even THINK that?

Oh God. Now it really hit him. Coulson knew Skye was his daughter but he was hiding it from her, his own daughter. Why?

He was also relieved. Now that he knew he could tell Skye. Could he? Or should he have a serious conversation with Coulson first? But what if he tells him to keep it from her, just the way he's been doing it all this time himself? What if he makes it an order? He could never lie to Skye, it would probably be the end of their relationship, the only relationship he valued in his whole life. She was his soul mate and he wasn't going to lose her. That's why he had to tell her the truth now, because God knows that Coulson has had this chance already.

Simmons brought him back from his thoughts.

- Ward?

- I'm going to tell Skye the truth. Thank you, Jemma. I owe you one.

- Oh, no, you don't…

But before she could finish he was out of the lab. She decided she was going to reveal the truth to Fitz after Skye found out. They were the only people on the bus who didn't know the truth yet.

Ward was having a hard time finding Skye. She wasn't in her bunk or in his, she wasn't with Fitz in the living area either, not in the kitchen. Then he went to check in the training area, and he almost missed her small form sitting by the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. The sight of her made him a bit worried.

- Skye. Is something wrong?

- What do you think?

He came close and kneeled in front of her so that their eyes were on the same level.

- We need to talk. Now.

She looked at him with a mix fear and uncertainty in her eyes, and it made him wince.

- Do we have to talk about it now? I'm not sure I want to hear it anymore.

- I can see that you're scared, but we must talk. Com'on.

He took her hand and pulled her up. He could sense that she really wasn't willing to come with him.

- What's wrong with you, Skye?

He looked at her, searching for something in her eyes but not being able to understand what had happened to her this morning.

- I don't know. But I have a feeling that I'm not gonna love what you want to say to me now.

Grant said that we better talk in my bunk so that no one hears. He was getting really tensed up, I could feel it. I was getting more and more worried about this thing, whatever it might be.

In the bunk, he told me to sit down while he sat in front of me and took my hands in his. This was something serious.

- Please, tell me already. I don't think I can bear the tension anymore.

- Okay. But first look me in the eyes, Skye.

I did just that.

- And promise me not to freak out because I'm right here with you and will always be.

What? Why would I freak out?

- Whatever. Go on.

- I know who your father is.

At first the words sounded unreal. I laughed. How could it be real?

- What are you…

I said confusingly.

- I know it's hard for you to accept that, but Simmons has done a DNA test, so there can't be any mistake. Skye, Coulson is your father.

He said it very slowly, looking me in the eyes, as if to check that I fully understand what he is saying.

My jaw dropped and I started shivering.

- I told you how I thought that he was acting weird where you were concerned. Well, he was acting like a father. As far as I know, he found out who your parents were for you and discovered the truth. He learnt that he has a daughter, the girl whom he took on his new team. By a strange coincidence, you found each other. The only thing I don't understand though, is why he isn't telling you he's your father.

Tears were streaming down my face and it wasn't long before I burst out crying, Grant wrapping his arms around my body immediately.

How could Coulson do that? Find the truth and keep it away from me? Didn't he want a daughter like me? The girl who betrayed the team? The hacker from the Rising Tide? Well, ex-hacker for the Rising Tide. Was it because of who I am? I made a quick conclusion.

- My own father doesn't want me.

That made Grant look at her.

- Skye, what the fuck are you talking about? Can't you see he's been your father since he found out? The reason he's keeping it from you is his own issues!

- Well, then, why no one wanted to adopt me then? No one?

Ward could see that pain in her eyes, as if she was that vulnerable little girl again. It made him hurt too.

- These people were fools, Skye, they didn't deserve you. And look where you ended up. In the place where you belong. Right now you DO have a family and you've got to meet your father here, and deep inside you KNOW he cares about you. So don't tell me any shit about your father not wanting you. You need to stop thinking no one wants you, because I DO and everyone on this team does.

- I can't believe you did this. How did you just SEE he might be my father?

I was absolutely shocked. Even I didn't see it, and hey, I've always thought I was able to see stuff like that, like that thing between Fitzsimmons.

- Like I said, I saw him become your father. I could see it in the way he acted around you, and trying to protect you the way I do.

I sat on my bed and couldn't move, as if I was paralyzed, tears still coming down in streams.

- I can't believe it. I think I'm dreaming.

I pinched myself immediately, then two times more. Nothing.

- Oh shit, I'm not dreaming.

As that realization hit me, I started crying even harder and it got pretty hard to breathe. Grant pulled me on his lap and started soothing me.

- Shhh, Skye. Breathe, just breathe. It's going to be okay, I swear.

He was stroking my hair and planting kisses on my face, all covered in tears, soothing me the way he always does. I felt my body relax from his closeness and his touch. I said in a hardly audible voice:

- Why didn't he know about me? Why?

- I don't know, baby, but I'm sure as hell going to find the truth. And the person responsible is going to pay the price.

Grant's voice sounded so determined it scared me.

He held me tight and I held on to him for dear life thinking how in hell I ever deserved that man. He was the best thing that ever happened to me. Then I realized that he and this small dysfunctional family was enough. I didn't need to race after something that was already gone because it wasn't going to change my past. I certainly didn't need Ward to do the same for me. Somehow I found the strength to speak.

- No. Promise me you'll never do that, never go into that mess that is my past. It will never change what has happened. I know who my father is now and that's all I wanted to know, there is no need to dig for more.

He didn't say anything in reply.

- Grant?

I looked at him and saw his face all serious.

- Please. Don't do that. You're gonna do something stupid and end up dead and I'll be alone all over again, do you want that?

I could hardly see him through the tears. He gently wiped them from my face but hardly had he done it when new ones appeared.

- Why would I end up dead exactly?

- Because it's dangerous!

- And how's that?

- How would I know? I just don't wanna lose you, you stupid idiot! You made me promise to obey your stupid orders, now you have to promise me to stay out of this mess!

I looked at him pleadingly, I knew he hated it when I cried.

- If it makes you happy. I promise.

- Promise me what? Say it. I. Agent Grant Ward, promise you, Skye, say it properly.

Reluctantly, he said:

- I, Agent Grant Ward, promise you, Skye, to never go searching for what S.H.I.E.L.D. did to you in the past. Are you happy now?

- Yes. I swear, you're getting as stubborn as me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and then kissed him on the lips. He lied on my bed taking me with him and I didn't notice how I fell asleep, only his whisperings in my ear and his hands holding me close.

The next day when Skye refused to speak about her father, Ward didn't push her and decided to give her some time to get used to the idea of having Coulson as her father. But when the same happened the day after that and after a week, he began to get worried. Skye was in denial and didn't want to speak about her father. She was training harder than ever and he could easily see that. She was angry and mad. She was so stressed that she hardly ate and Ward had to make her eat something. He couldn't help noticing she lost weight. He's never seen her like that and she seriously worried him.

Coulson was to blame for that, so Ward decided to have a serious talk with him, Skye was his daughter after all, and he did keep asking questions on Skye's weird behavior and clearly looked pretty worried.

Ward needed Coulson to tell Skye that she was his daughter, it could not go on like that. Skye needed that right now. Ward wanted Coulson to make Skye understand that she was loved.

He walked into his office without knocking.

- Agent Ward! How rude.

- Sir, we need to talk.

Ward looked at Coulson intently, wondering if he maybe knew what was coming.

- It's about Skye.

- Is something wrong with her?

Coulson suddenly turned to face him and got very concerned.

- Well, haven't you noticed? Sir, with all respect, I think you need to be honest with her and tell her she is your daughter.

- What?

He was taken aback. He certainly thought his secret was safe.

- Although she already knows that. But stubborn as she is, she doesn't want to talk about it and has already convinced herself you don't care about her.

Coulson was totally shocked by what he had told him, and Grant could see guilt in his eyes. That was a good sign.

- How could I ever not care about my own daughter?

- I don't know, sir, but you gave her such an impression. She doesn't want to show it but she's hurt. You hurt her when you were supposed to protect her. I don't think it's right.

With the same shocked expression on his face, Coulson took a seat and Ward did the same.

- I never knew I had a child. I never knew I was a father before I saw that document… with my name in it.

- I know you didn't know about her, sir.

- How do you?

- You suddenly started acting like a father, which you had never done before. Remember that talk you had with me about dating Skye? I noticed it right away, it was a fatherly thing to do, to warn me against hurting your daughter.

- Oh well, I couldn't help it. I just wish I had seen my child grow up. Someone took it away from me and they are going to pay for that.

Coulson took a bottle of whisky and filled two glasses for himself and Ward. They drank it and he continued:

- How am I supposed to explain why I didn't know about her existence? And she thinks I don't love her, but how can a father not love his child? That's impossible.

He poured himself more whisky.

- So you should talk some sense into her and tell her how you feel. She's going to understand. Now she's mad because she doesn't get it. The sooner you do it the better because God knows I can't bear to see her in such a miserable state.

- I'll do it, today. Don't worry, I promise you that.

When Ward got up from the coach to leave, Coulson stopped him and said:

- And Grant. Thank you for taking care of my daughter, I appreciate it. You're good for her. Forget about the threats.

- Thank you, sir. I'll always take care of her, you can rely on it.

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**I hope you like where this story is going! Skye is a Coulson...!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here goes another chapter! Skye has some issues to solve with her father. Read and see how they figure out hteir new relationship! hope you enjoy it! **

**Thank you for your support, guys, you are fantastic!**

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**Chapter 9**

I was lying in my bed, cell phone in my hands, as there was nothing more to do. It was Sunday afternoon and Ward moved my training to 6 pm because he had some paper work or something to do.

I heard a knock on the door, which was in fact pretty weird, because no one on this bus knocks on your door, they just come in. So I said:

- Come in.

I was lost for words when I saw Coulson on my doorstep. I noticed that he was looking at me differently, not like my boss, but…

- Skye. We need to talk.

I got paralyzed with fear. Did he want to talk about what I thought he did? The whole Coulson-is-my-father situation was something I didn't want to discuss.

I didn't say anything and didn't move, just kept looking at him.

- Skye. My office.

Saying that, he closed the door.

I didn't want to talk so I decided to hide, as stupid as it was, I needed more time to deal with the truth. I left my room and went to May's car. I got in, closed the door and lay down.

Ward was in the kitchen when he saw Coulson searching for something. So he had to ask:

- Looking for something?

- Oh, yes. My daughter.

Was it so hard to find Skye these days? She was always in her bunk. Coulson added:

- I ask her to talk, she says nothing. I ask to come to my office, she disappears.

Oh, yeah, that sounded like something Skye would do. The good thing was she was on the bus because they were in the middle of their flight to LA.

- She is scared. I've tried to talk to her for a week now.

- She's known for a week now?

Ward turned to look at Coulson who seemed distressed. This whole situation was obviously stressing him out.

- Yes, I had to tell her the truth, which wasn't easy for her, but I couldn't hide it from her like…

- Like I did.

Coulson finished it for him. After a moment of silence, Ward said:

- Check May's car.

I heard the door of the car open and, hoping it wasn't Coulson, opened my eyes. Unfortunately, it was him. He got inside and, moving my legs, sat down.

- Can we please stop playing hide-and-seek?

I sat up but didn't say a word.

- Don't want to speak? Fine! I will.

- I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself that I am your father, but you gotta understand the state of shock I've been in since I found out about you, and you gotta understand that it didn't mean I don't care about you or that I don't love you. But I never knew! Never knew I had a child! Then when I found out, I couldn't believe I had a 21-year-old daughter! And I wish I had had a chance to see you growing up, your first smile, your first steps, your first day of school…

I felt hot tears on my face. I desperately didn't want to cry but it was getting harder and harder and my head started aching.

- I never got to experience that, but you know, there are still moments that we can share. I'm your father, Skye, and it doesn't matter how old you are and that you might think it's too late, but I am going to be your father from now on, whether you like it or not.

I turned my head away from him so as he doesn't see my tears. The realization that my father didn't leave me like I used to think, relieved me as much as it hurt me. I could have a father. Well, now I did.

- I'm really sorry for what you had to get through as a child. It hurts to know that my child was brought up in an orphanage. I just wish I could change that but I can't. Someone kept my child from me. I'm going to find the man responsible.

At last I turned to look at him, although I probably looked like crap from crying.

- It's not your fault.

He seemed really surprised that I started speaking or that I wasn't blaming him.

- I don't blame you.

- I should have known. I wish I had. But I guess I am lucky enough to know the truth now. I knew it was the right thing to do when I took you on this team. I just had to take you.

- When did you find out?

- A week or so after you showed me the files.

- And you decided to keep it to yourself.

I said it as a statement of a fact. Then opened the door and left the car.

I went straight to the training area and started to punch the bag with bare hands. I was so angry I could see stars. I don't know how long I've been doing this for when I heard Grant shout something. I didn't stop and he had to pull me away from the bag. He was holding me from behind and I tried to fight him off but couldn't and burst out crying.

- Let me go!

- No. Skye, you're hurting yourself! Look at you hands!

I looked down and noticed that I had blood on my knuckles.

- Stop fighting me, Skye. Look at me.

- No!

He turned me to face him, holding me by the shoulders.

- Look at me! Punching the bag with bare hands won't make it better. You need to talk about what you're feeling.

I turned my head away. It was too hard. I started weeping and he turned my face to face him again.

- It's been a week. You had your time. Now you have to talk and I promise you, you'll feel better. Skye, please, talk to me.

His voice sounded so worried I couldn't bear it. I said in a tired voice:

- I can't.

- No, I know you can. All you have to do is start speaking.

He took my hands and led me to the bench.

- Say it. Say it what you've been thinking about for this whole week. I can't bear it no longer, you have to open up to me.

There were so many things that I kept to myself, so many feelings, and it was getting so hard to deal with them. That was the last straw and I just spilled it out.

- I wish I had a father! It's not fair! All these years I had a father! A father who didn't even know I existed! And I used to think my parents gave me up! But my father didn't! He just didn't KNOW! So it makes me feel angry and mad and sad at the same time and I think I'm overloaded with emotions and I can't breathe!

I felt him wrap his hands around me moving me closer. I put my hands around him and buried my face in his T-shirt, his smell calming me down a bit.

- It's okay to feel that way. But you are going to be alright, you hear me? You have me and you have a father, and the team, we are your family. You'll never be that girl again, you'll always have us. I promise, I'll always be there with you. Never forget that.

He kissed me on the top of my head and wiped away the tears, and I felt better.

- Thank you.

- Always.

Grant then got up and took the medical kit.

He took my left hand first and started cleansing the wounds. He was gentle but it stung anyway and I winced.

- Never do that with your bare hands again.

Later we were sitting on the coach, more precisely, Ward was sitting and I was lying, my head on his lap, and he was stroking my hair soothingly. There was something on TV but we weren't paying attention to that. I asked him the question I've been waiting to ask:

- So what do you think about Fitzsimmons situation?

- Fitzsimmons situation? What's wrong with Fitzsimmons?

- Oh you know perfectly well what's wrong with those two!

- Do I?

- Oh, stop it! This cute couple of geniuses are hiding from us and it's just driving me crazy! When I can see that there's so much going on between these two! And I had a talk with Fitz and told him that I KNOW but he stayed perfectly calm, that cheeky bastard!

I heard him laugh and stopped. How dare he laugh at me? It's not funny!

- Ward. What's funny here?

He tried to hide his smile but failed. A thought hit me that I loved his beautiful face even when he was mocking me I swear.

- It's just you're so cute when you're mad.

He giggled (weird!) and I sat up.

- So you're enjoying it? How dare you!

I sent a pillow in his face.

- That's how you treat your supervising officer, Rookie? You're up for a big trouble.

He pushed me down on the coach and held my hands so that I couldn't move, then gave me such a passionate kiss that I saw fireworks. When he pulled away for air I said:

- If that is trouble for you, then I think I could get used to that, S.O.

He looked at me hungrily and before his lips crushed into mine again, said:

- Oh, you can't even imagine, how much trouble you're in.

His hands roamed under my shirt, then took it off and threw it on the floor, leaving me in my bra, and although the feeling he was giving me was absolutely heavenly, I suddenly remembered we were in the living area and anyone could walk in right that moment.

- Grant…

- Shut up.

Saying that, he continued to kiss my neck and shoulders. I half whispered:

- Grant, we can't do this here.

- Why not…

- Because we're in the living area and anyone can walk in and see us!

He stopped and looked around.

- Oh shit I completely forgot.

This gave me a chance to pick my shirt from the floor and put it back on. Then I thought that it wasn't like Ward to get involved and forget where he is. He's getting so soft. Oh, well, anyway.

- We aren't done with the Fitzsimmons talk yet!

He looked at me and groaned.

- Ward! Stop whining! I mean I swear they're sleeping in the same bunk!

- What makes you think so?

I laughed.

- Are you serious? Let's go and check right this moment!

- Skye! You're unbelievable.

- Com'on!

I took his hand and pulled him with me into the hall and to Fitz's bunk. He stood by the door, arms crossed, and looked at me disapprovingly while I tried to listen what was happening inside. It was totally quiet.

He raised his eyebrows and said:

- See? He's sleeping.

I smiled wickedly.

- Oh, no. It's the wrong bunk.

I moved to Jemma's, Ward following me unwillingly.

I listened and heard two voices.

- Oh, they're both here! Yes! I told you!

I looked at him with a winning smile. He got interested and moved to stand by the door with me and listen.

We heard Fitz say:

- I swear, she knows! She nearly ate me today with her "I KNOW". I know what you're doing with Simmons, I know you two are an item and bla bla bla…

- Oh com'on, Fitz, she was just bluffing, no one can know!

- Oh she was serious, believe me! Vehement! Maybe we should just let it out already?

- Fitz, NO! No! I swear I'm going to cut you if you say a word!

- You realize that she's going to find out anyway? It's Skye!

Behind their door, I smiled. Was that a compliment? Then I heard Ward's voice:

- No, that wasn't a compliment, Skye.

How did he know what I was thinking again? Weird.

The door unexpectedly opened and I swear I would be on the floor if it hadn't been for Grant who managed to get a hold of me in time.

I saw a furious Simmons.

- Just what exactly do you think you two are doing?

I opened my mouth to explain everything but the only sound I managed to form was ''Ooooopsey'' and smile. I looked at Grant hoping he would help. My jaw totally dropped when he said:

- Sorry guys, I never wanted to intrude but Skye dragged me with her. I surely didn't wanna see you two doing THAT…

Simmons looked dumbfounded and opened her mouth to speak several times but nothing came. Then Fitz appeared from behind her.

- You guys have crossed the line here! We never listened behind your door when you two were making out!

I gave him a winning smile and pointed my finger at him.

- Ha! Busted! You just admitted that you and Simmons were making out! Ha! Ha!

- I… I didn't say anything of the kind!

Simmons backed him up.

- Yes, he didn't!

- Too late. We've seen everything we wanted to see. Right, Ward? And by the way, don't you think it's time you stopped hiding?

I took Ward by the T-shirt, angry at him for putting the blame on me, and dragged him to my bunk.

- And now I'm gonna deal with you, mister.

- What did I do?

He said in an innocent voice. Won't work on me, I thought.

- Oh you can stop pretending to be innocent, Agent Ward! You just saved your ass by exposing mine! I'm afraid we'll have to break up.

I said jokingly, knowing he would get what I meant.

- Oh, Rookie, I'm afraid that's not gonna happen.

Saying that, he pinned me to my door and kissed me deeply and passionately. I was about to slid to the floor, he made me so weak, but he lifted me up, then opened the door and walked inside, closing the door and locking it, just in case Fitzsimmons would try to get revenge for their mini spying game.

Ward didn't regret spying on Fitzsimmons a little bit if it made Skye happy. He needed to see her smile and to hear her laugh again because he missed it so damn much this week.

The next day I thought I should go talk to AC (should I call him my father or what) and also apologize for what I told him before I left the car. I didn't want him to think I didn't want him as my father. Actually, I was pretty sure I wanted my father pretty bad, I just couldn't quite accept it myself.

When I realized that he never gave me up, I was happy and angry at the same time. Why didn't my father know about me? I needed to know. At least my father wasn't the one who didn't want me as I used to think, not that I had any information on my mother and what made me get into the orphanage. I had no desire to ask who my mother was right now, I already found out what my last name and who is my father. For now, even that was too much.

I came to the door of his office and stood there for a while trying to think of something to say. While I was gathering my thoughts, the door opened and Coulson was about to walk out but he saw me and said:

- Skye? Did you want to talk?

I got scared and, as he was about to leave, tried to use this to retreat.

- Oh, no, no, no, I'll come later, you can go…

- No, we're going to talk now. Come in.

He made me come in, as if he thought I'd disappear like I did yesterday.

- I'm sorry for what I said today. I understand that you needed time. I needed it too.

He looked at me and I saw something in his eyes that I have seen once before. I wondered what it could be.

- You don't have to apologize, Skye. I screwed up. Should have told you. What Ward did for you though… I'm really happy you have him. I know you're always safe with him and it calms me down.

I felt a strong urge to hug him. So after a moment of silence, I took two steps in his direction and threw my arms around his neck, which got him by surprise. It was a very impulsive move but right then I didn't care. I've waited for this to happen all my life and almost gave up hope of it ever happening.

He hugged me back after he got over the shock and I smiled through tears. I finally had a father and it felt damn amazing. And I also had the best boyfriend in the world. And of course, Fitzsimmons and May. What else could I wish for?

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**Sooooo what do you think? was it good enough? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Here we go, I couldn't wait to post another chapter! **

**103 people are following this story! WOOW! thank you thank you thank youuu! you make me happy!**

**enjoy this one, guuuys!**

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**Chapter 10**

In the morning Ward was woken up by a knock on the door. Then he turned his head and saw Coulson open the door, which surprised him. What could Coulson want from them so early in the morning? Coulson whispered, not wanting to wake up Skye:

- Ward, get up and get to my office. We need to talk.

The door closed and Ward got out of the bed, careful not to wake Skye who was sleeping peacefully. He couldn't not look at her and admire her beauty. Thinking how lucky he was, he put on his clothes quickly and left the bunk, closing the door quietly.

On his way to the office he went back to thinking what was the matter with Coulson. He got a bit worried not knowing what was coming. Was it connected with Skye? Or was there a mission for him?

As soon as he walked into Coulson's office, he asked with concern in his voice:

- Sir, is something wrong?

- Nothing happened, but there is something I'd like to ask you. Two things, actually.

- Okay. Go ahead.

- No one outside this team can know that I have a daughter and especially that it's Skye. NO ONE except for us. Do you understand?

Ward's brain went into overdrive. He started thinking of all the reasons in the world why should this be a secret. He was worried about one thing most. Trying to hide the escalating panic in his voice, he asked

- Is she in danger?

- I don't know. I mean she might be. I don't know the reasons why she was kept away from me and until I know the truth, I don't want anyone to know that I know about her. Whoever hid my child away from me, he certainly didn't have good intentions. Moreover, I'm almost sure S.H.I.E.L.D. had something to do with it, and besides, they tend to keep secrets more often than not. So we better keep silent and not take the risk of finding out what happens if we let everyone know. For her safety.

Grant couldn't agree more. Her safety was on the list of his top priorities, too. He could never take a risk of doing anything that would hurt her in any way. And now he and her father had to protect her from the organization they work for.

- Then the secret is safe with the team. Where the safety of our own is concerned, this team won't let us down.

Coulson replied, smiling the way he always does when he's pleased:

- I know.

- And what is the other thing?

- It's about Skye's training. I want you to train her harder. Push her if you need but get the needed result. Right now we don't have a mission, so you can have all the time training her.

- Sir, as much as I want her to make progress, I can't push her too hard. You should understand that.

- Only if you need to. I rely on you to teach her how to protect herself.

- That's the same thing I want. I won't let you down.

He left the office and went straight to the bunk. It was only 6 in the morning and Skye was still sleeping, still in that same position she was in when he left her. He smiled and got back into bed, having decided to lie with her for a while before he woke her up.

I felt Grant move and half opened my eyes. He was in his sweat pants and T-shirt. I asked him groggily:

- Where did you go? How much time is it?

He looked at me lovingly and smiled.

- Good morning sunshine. It's six, you can have some more sleep.

I tried to protest because he hadn't answered answer my question, but he kissed me on the forehead and pulled me to his chest, and it felt so blissful that I couldn't bother to ask him again, deciding to do it later instead. I wrapped my right hand and leg around him, heard him chuckle silently at my new habit and fell asleep again.

It seemed I haven't slept for 5 minutes when he woke me up. I complained:

- Ughhh, Grant, it's too early, just let me sleep…

My head hit the pillow and I put the cover over my head. All I could think about was sleep.

- No more sleeping till noon, Rookie. It's training time.

He said it and pulled the cover from my body. I felt cold right away and made a grumbling sound. Training was the last thing on my mind.

- Get up! Get up now, we have a lot of work to do. Com'on, you don't want me to pour cold water on you, do you?

In a flash, I opened my eyes. It was cold enough without having ice cold water poured on me.

- No way. Do it and I won't even speak to you.

I sat up and ran my hand through my hair. Then I remembered something I wanted to ask him earlier.

- Where did you go earlier?

- Coulson asked me to his office.

- Did he wake you? Why?

- He had something to say. We can't let anyone outside the team know you're his daughter.

I was at a loss. Different thoughts came to my mind.

- He needs time to find the people responsible for what happened to you. Until then, you're in danger if they discover that you found your father. Coulson thinks S.H.I.E.L.D. has something to do with all that.

- I don't want him to dig into it. If it's dangerous, we should keep away from it. It's okay if no one can know I'm Coulson's daughter. I just don't want anyone to get hurt.

- Skye, he has a right to find out who kept his child away from him, don't you think? And I won't keep him from protecting you and making sure you're safe. We want the same things.

These men, I thought, they always think they know it best.

- You won't be able to protect me if you get yourselves killed, you know.

With these words, I got up and left for the bathroom.

15 minutes later we were in the training area. Ward looked very serious and I thought that wasn't promising me anything good.

- We're combating today. Better do your best because we're not leaving until you've made progress.

I thought that Grant was being weird and I was right. He was determined, strict and adamant. I kept thinking what was wrong with him, and also kept losing and being pushed to the mat. That made him angry and irritated.

- Skye, concentrate! Pull yourself together and THINK.

That was harsh. I couldn't get what was wrong with him, he's never been so pushing. I decided to ask him what happened.

- What's wrong with you today? I don't understand.

- I'm doing my job as your S.O. and you need to pull your socks up, Skye.

- No. You've been my S.O. from the beginning but now something's changed.

- I should have done a better job from the very beginning but I thought we had time. I was wrong and it might have as well got you killed.

- What? What are you talking about?

- Skye, it's not the time for talking. Com'on, now start from the very beginning, remember what I told you. Concentrate on your movements, start fighting.

- Ward.

- Skye, I said FIGHT!

That was harsh! His behavior made me mad so unexpectedly I threw my fist in his face. I thought about what I did only when it was done. He clearly didn't see that coming and looked stunned. Then I started punching him hard because I figured that was what he wanted me to do anyway. With every punch I got more and more furious and it seemed I couldn't stop, though I was getting tired and my started kicking him more slowly.

- Skye, stop, that's enough.

I didn't want him to tell me what to do because it was something he obviously enjoyed doing, so I didn't stop and began hitting him harder.

- Skye, you're gonna exhaust yourself. It's ENOUGH.

I continued what I was doing but then it hit me that I was actually hitting Grant and he didn't even try to fight back any more and that was it, I just burst out crying.

- Skye, I said it's enough!

He grabbed my wrists and held them tight. I tried to break away but it was no use. I was weeping and couldn't stop. Ward put his arms around me trying to calm me down and held me right so that I wouldn't escape.

- I'm sorry. I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed so hard.

I asked him, stuttering a bit:

- What's WRONG with you?

- I think I'm not a good S.O. for you.

- What? Are you serious?

I cupped his face and looked at him with determination, my face still wet from tears.

- Grant Ward, you're the best S.O. I could ever wish for. Don't ever doubt that and don't ever think you're not good enough. Copy that?

He was looking at me as if trying to find an answer in my eyes. I was looking right back at him.

- I'll do my best.

- Ward, you're always doing your best. Always.

- I'm not a robot. Sometimes I fail. I don't want to fail you.

- You won't ever fail me!

- I know. THAT I can't afford.

He said that with so much determination in his voice that I knew we were going to be perfectly fine. He took my hand, still in the bandages, and kissed my knuckles.

- Go have some rest.

I went to do just that. I had hardly enough strength to take a quick shower, then on my way to the bunk I decided to crash on the coach in the living area because it was so much closer and fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

I heard his voice saying my name gently and his fingers stroking my cheeks, then I heard him say very gently:

- Skye, baby, wake up. It's time for dinner.

Then I felt him put soft kisses all over my face. I smiled, I loved it when he called me that, who would think that Agent Grant Ward could be such a softie? I was glad that it was me who made him change.

- Skye… Fitzsimmons have made dinner, com'on, you don't really wanna miss that.

I smiled again but didn't open my eyes. So he started tickling me. I squeaked and said sleepily:

- Oh, no no no, please don't.

I opened my eyes. I was in the living area and he was kneeling in front of the coach, his face close to mine. I couldn't help but kiss him softly on the lips.

- So are Fitzsimmons like a married couple now? Cooking and doing housework and stuff?

He chuckled and said:

- Well, you gotta get up from this coach and check.

When the team gathered around the table, I looked at our little dysfunctional family and smiled. For me, we were perfect. Fitzsimmons made lasagna, and it was actually delicious. I had to ask how they managed to make something as delicious as that, not without teasing them of course.

- Guys, that tastes fantastic! Didn't know that apart from being in sync in the lab and uhm, some other place you refuse to talk about, you are in sync in the kitchen too!

- Skye!

Simmons glared at me.

- What? I made you a compliment!

- Just stop spying on us. You and your boyfriend.

I didn't hesitate to reply:

- Just stop hiding. You and your boyfriend.

Everyone got silent. May and Coulson froze. They didn't know, although I could swear they must have suspected something. Coulson managed to ask:

- Jemma, you have a boyfriend?

I was actually shocked when Ward answered:

- Oh yes. He's sitting right in front of you, sir.

Well, that was priceless. And I loved my boyfriend for that, he knew that would make me happy. Fitzsimmons obviously did not feel comfortable. Coulson asked Fitz, staying totally calm, which he must have taken from May, who stopped paying attention to the conversation and just started eating again. May was so calm and balanced that sometimes I wished I could be like her and not to freak out and get emotional over stupid things.

- Fitz? Is that true?

I thought: Oh, the moment of truth, here it goes. I looked at Grant who was sitting next to me and smiled even more when I saw him looking at Fitzsimmons with that winning smile. That was fun!

- Yes, sir.

Simmons shot Fitz a glare. She was going to deal with him later. Her boyfriend or whatever.

- I would very much appreciate if you didn't keep secrets from your team. We all know how that turned up to be with Skye, and although it all ended well, I consider it our unwritten rule not to keep secrets.

When Coulson mentioned my betrayal, Ward looked at me to check my reaction. I just looked down because I was still ashamed and full of regrets. He took my hand and squeezed it. Fitzsimmons reacted, together as always:

- Yes, sir.

Jemma thought it necessary to explain why they had done that:

- We are sorry, guys, we just wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while.

I said:

- Well, I noticed that. It was a little bit more than just a while.

Fitz got irritated and cut in:

- Can we please talk about something else?

Coulson had something to say and it seemed a good time to do it when his whole team was sitting around the table.

- Why, of course we can. As you all already know, I am Skye's father. And you also happen to be the only people who know that and we need to keep it that way. NO ONE can pass this information to anyone for the sake of Skye's safety.

Simmons asked worriedly:

- Is she in danger?

- I'm not.

I protested but both Grant and Coulson objected:

- She might be.

That sounded odd. Grant and my father saying the same thing at the same time. Is it even normal? I sighed and got up from the table.

- I can't have any more food. You two make me sick.

My boyfriend was overprotective enough for me to be hardly able to deal with that but there came my father and they got even more overprotective together. And hey, look, I'm an adult who is perfectly able to take care of myself. "Look, Skye, we want the same thing, to protect you and stuff" and bla bla bla. Okay, got it. But how do I breathe?

I got into May's car, somewhere I could think.

Oh, of course it was good to have a family and people who actually loved me and cared about me. I was never complaining about that! But their constant need to protect me from everything was what was making me mad. I didn't want to be mad at the people whom I loved.

I concentrated on my love for them, trying to calm down. Maybe it was hard for me to understand their concern because I'd never had any loved ones before them. That was probably it. That's why I was always so difficult to deal with. No one loved me before.

I was so lucky to have a chance of having a family after so many years. I should be so damn grateful, and I am, but I think I should show it more. Why do I act like that sometimes? As if I am not grateful?

I felt like I was a bad person. I had weaknesses, which I hated, but no one is perfect, right? I could never be perfect.

The door opened and I saw Grant get in. He always followed me, no matter what. He'd always do what's best for me and I loved him even more for that, even though I did hate it sometimes, but only sometimes.

- Maybe you are not perfect, Skye, but to me you are perfect.

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**Sooo what do you think? **

**I have the next chapter ready for you, with some more exciting stuff, so I will update soon! **

**reviews are welcooome ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's something exciting for you, guys! I think you're going to enjoy this one! and hey, that new ep was bloody amazing! Ward was sooooo furious! wow! and Skyward had some bonding time heeh xxx**

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**Chapter 11**

It was early Sunday morning and I was lying in bed wide awake, Grant quietly snoring right beside me. I've had a weird recurring dream and could sleep no longer, it just kept coming back. Careful not to wake him up, as he deserved some sleep on a peaceful Sunday morning, I got up, dressed and left the bunk without making any noise.

I came into the kitchen, there was no one there and it seemed that everyone was still in bed, made myself some coffee and sat down on the chair, taking a cookie jar. I was bored and thought about getting out of the bus, while we're still in LA, and go shopping, as I haven't done in in a long time. Seriously, I've run out of clothes to wear.

It was weird for me to get up so early while everyone else was still sleeping, usually it was on the contrary. So why not use my time and do something useful, there was nothing else to involve myself into.

I quickly returned to the bunk to take my bag, Grant was still sleeping and I carefully leaned and kissed him lightly before I left. He looked so cute when he was sleeping, I thought, his hair a mess and his expression so peaceful. It made me smile.

I opened the rump using my phone and closed it behind me. It was a beautiful day and I was glad to spend some time alone and outside the bus, for a change. I smiled and inhaled fresh air. Was it freedom? Perhaps that was it.

I took my van and went to Westfield shopping mall in Santa Monica. I've always liked this part of LA and more often than not I used to park my van somewhere there. It's so strange how much my life has changed in a matter of months. Not just my life though, but also me. I was a different person now, I could tell.

As I was getting there I remembered that I haven't left a note when I left. Such a fool. I made a mental note to call later when they would be awake to say that I went shopping, but I quickly forgot about that before I got to the mall.

I visited a few stores and bought myself some stuff I really fancied, and being in a good mood, I made my way for a coffee shop. I made an order, sat down and relaxed. The day has been good so far.

Having some moments of normality made me relax and remember what my life used to be, when it was just me and the van. I kind of missed it, but I wouldn't change anything for the world. What I have now is so much better than before, so much more valuable. So different and not at all like old me but so much better.

I couldn't get rid of the feeling of being followed. When I looked back I didn't notice anyone I knew, which meant no member of my team had gone after me, but wasn't exactly a good thing. I'd better have my team following me than anyone else that I don't know. Anyway, I didn't want to think about it and spoil my day just because it seemed to me that I was followed, which I was probably not. So I made myself relax instead and forgot about it after a while.

Some hours of shopping later, I was definitely done. Feeling tired and hungry, I got some takeaway food and got back to my van.

The van looked unusually empty. As my home now was obviously the bus, all the important stuff was on the bus. I chuckled and wondered whether it was my 'thing' to live in vehicles. First the van, now the 'bus'. I was only hoping that someday Ward and I would get ourselves a proper home. I thought about it and only then noticed that I was actually thinking about my future with Grant, and I had never thought about my future at all. It seemed that I had really changed, and I loved that. I felt like I became a better Skye, though, no doubt, I still had some improvement to make about myself, even though Grant was insisting that he loved me just the way I was and I shouldn't change. I knew he'd love me no matter what but who didn't want to be a better person?

Deciding to eat the take-away food on the bus and not to waste any time, I started the van and went home. Home, where my family was.

When I got to the hangar, I couldn't believe what I saw. The huge aircraft wasn't anywhere to be seen. It was gone! I got out of my van and walked around the hangar, my jaw dropped, panic starting to build up inside me, all kinds of thoughts in my head.

- Shit! NO WAY! No fucking way!

Some guy heard me and asked:

- Is anything wrong?

- Oh, everything is wrong! Where's the bus?

I was getting mad and worried at the same time. I waited for his answer impatiently. If that was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way to teach me another lesson, I swear I was going to kill my father for that one.

- Oh, the aircraft? It took off hours ago.

Crap, crap, crap! I was in trouble, big big trouble and I didn't like that at all. What the hell happened? Did they just took off without me?

I got back into the van and started eating the food, as I was really stressed out and there was nothing I could do right now. I couldn't call them when they were in the middle of the flight, obviously, and damn me, I was stupid enough not to leave any note or to call them later. So, it was partly my fault (okay, totally my fault) that I was sitting here in my van, all alone, chewing my sandwich. Even my laptop was on the bus. Shit. The day started so damn well!

It was already dark and I was sitting in the van with the doors open, probably waiting for the bus to miraculously reappear. I wanted to see Grant again so desperately, I haven't seen him since I left in the early morning. I remembered his face and it made me feel a little better.

I was eating again, stress did that to me, this time a Chinese takeaway when I saw the 'bus' getting closer and about to land. "Thank God!" I thought. It could be much worse, I could have spent several days here while they were on a mission. But my troubles weren't quite ending there.

I came closer to the bus as it stopped and saw the rump open. I saw Grant and Coulson run down the rump and I didn't have time to say anything as Grant was already in front of me pulling me into a hug so tight I thought I'd suffocate. When he let me go he swore:

- What the fuck, Skye? Where the hell did you disappear to and why?

His face got from worried to mad in a matter of milliseconds. He was holding me by the shoulders and looking into my eyes, as if trying to find an answer there. Coulson was standing in a distance throwing me disapproving glares. I spoke, my heart beating fast:

- I got up early in the morning and everyone was still asleep so I left the bus to do some shopping…

I started explaining, speaking hurriedly because it was a long story. He didn't let me finish.

- Skye! You left the bus and went somewhere on your own, leaving NO information that you were gone or any whereabouts whatsoever! You just fucking disappeared!

He was screaming and it was perfectly justified, but it wasn't that I haven't realized how stupid I was already. I didn't say anything, feeling extremely guilty and lost for words. He continued:

- We didn't even NOTICE you were gone! Because WHY would you leave! I realized that when we were in between LA and Toronto! Do you have ANY idea how worried you made me? I was almost sure someone kidnapped you! Holy crap, Skye, just say something! Explain why you did what you did! Because I do not understand!

I felt horrible. I didn't expect anything like this to happen and especially I never thought I would be considered kidnapped! I said in a low voice:

- I… had no idea the bus would take off while I was gone. I was gone for just several hours, then I got back and there was no bus here! I got pretty scared actually!

I wanted to mention that I got scared partly because I thought someone might have been following me and then the team was gone but then reconsidered, as that would make Grant ever madder than he is now, and God, he was so mad! I wanted to continue but he didn't want to listen.

- I didn't think…

- Yes! Exactly! You just never think!

I looked at him, tears pricking my eyes. Coulson was tired of listening to our fight and said:

- Okay, I think that's enough for now. We need to take off. Again. We're late.

Ward took my arm and pulled me towards the bus and then I remembered about my shopping bags that were in the van.

- Oh, wait, I'll take my shopping bags from the van…

He followed me to the van and told me to be quick, and I heard him sigh and mutter "Crazy" under his breath. I closed the van and he led me to the rump, holding me so tightly on my arm it hurt. I thought, oh my, I haven't seen him THAT mad in ages.

Ward was feeling mad for what she did, but couldn't not feel the relief that washed over him when he saw her, safe and sound. He kept thanking God, or whoever was up there, that she was alright.

When he woke up, she wasn't in bed and that got him pretty worried already, because she never woke up before he did, especially on a Sunday morning. But he didn't even think she might not be on the bus! Then he heard May say on the intercom they were on their way to Toronto. He got up and went to the bathroom. When he came to the living area later and she wasn't there, he assumed she was in the training area, of course. He couldn't help the feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was very wrong when she wasn't there. He checked May's car immediately and then went to ask the others if they've seen her. He got worried sick when he didn't get a positive answer. And only when he checked the whole bus several times and didn't find her he panicked and informed the team that Skye was missing. It was hard to scare Agent Grant Ward but Skye's disappearance scared the crap out of him, anything bad happening to her in general.

It came as a shock, as they were in the middle of their flight to Toronto, so how Skye could not be there. Coulson came to a conclusion:

- We must have took off without her. May, head back. Be fast.

All the time that they were getting back Ward couldn't help thinking what could have happened to her. She just disappeared, there was no note, no nothing. Her laptop was there, so something bad must have happened. It scared the hell out of him, the thought of something bad happening to his girl. He just prayed she hadn't been kidnapped, though he knew it was possible. There still were the people out there who knew the truth about her origin. They might have taken her if they had found out she was in the same team with her biological father. If someone had taken Skye, he was going to kill him/her/them, whatever.

So when they got back he just ran out of the bus ready to go find her but he saw her, just standing there, her van behind her. He was so relieved he almost forgot he should be mad. He just grabbed her in his arms and didn't feel like letting her go, until he realized he was holding her too tight. He wanted to kiss her but remembered what happened earlier.

Anyways, the most important thing was that she was safe and back, and he didn't ever want to let go of her. As they got back on the bus, he saw her wince, realized his hold on her arm was too strong, and loosened it right away.

- Sorry, I didn't want to hurt you.

- I know it.

I pulled my arm away from his grasp and rubbed the place he was holding.

Then I saw Fitzsimmons running down the stairs.

- Oh my God, Skye, what happened to you? You got us so worried!

- Are you alright, Skye?

- I'm fine. I'm sorry, guys, I didn't mean to scare you and I certainly didn't mean to stay in LA and for the bus to take off without me.

- Where did you disappear?

Grant couldn't help cutting into the conversation, looking at me with disapproval:

- Oh. She was shopping. Shopping!

Fitzsimmons decided to leave us for now and retreated to the lab, saying "Ooops" on their way up.

I looked at him and saw the pain in his eyes and almost cried. I could feel it, his pain, as if it was mine. I could only try to imagine what he had experienced when he'd realized I was not on the bus in the middle of the flight. I said:

- I'm so sorry. I'm SO sorry. I know how stupid it sounds but I just had nothing to do so I decided to get out! The bus wasn't supposed to take off!

He made an effort to calm down, stroked my cheek and kissed me on the forehead.

- Skye, I thought I lost you. You scared all the crap out of me.

Then he took my hands and kissed my palm, one then the other.

- I love you so much, you know that?

I nodded. He looked at me, his face serious. So I believed him when he said:

- But I swear if you pull off anything like this again, I'm going to cuff you to myself.

Cool, I thought… Then we get to take showers together… That could be fun. Not that I considered scaring him like that again anyways.

When we got to my bunk, he asked me:

- You haven't got yourself in any trouble, have you?

- No, not really.

- NOT REALLY? Skye…

- Nothing bad happened to me, I swear! It's just…

I hesitated, not sure if I should worry him because of nothing. He got impatient:

- Skye. Tell me, now.

- I'm not sure but… I felt as if I was being watched… followed by someone. It was probably nothing.

- How can you be sure it was nothing? Did you see anyone?

- There was no one that I recognized. But the feeling that someone was following me was there.

- Damn it. We need to tell Coulson about it.

- I didn't want to worry you even more, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for what happened today. I…

I felt tears on my face again.

- I NEVER want to make you feel the way I made you feel today. I love you. It was selfish, I know it.

He put an arm around me and, pulling me as closer as possible, said:

- Don't cry. I hate seeing you cry.

He wiped the tears from my face and kissed the places on my face that were wet from tears.

- It wasn't selfish, Skye, it was thoughtless. Please, never do this again.

Ward, being worried about my safety as usual, dragged me to my father's office as soon as he calmed down and was ready to let go of me. Since he saw me in the hangar, he couldn't let go, as if he was scared I'd disappear again.

When my father, well, Coulson, heard about the possible following, he got really mad:

- You were followed? Skye, why the hell you did you go there ALONE?

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**hope this chapter gave you some quality Skyward feels xxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here you go! I want to update as quick as possible now, because I'm going on a trip to Germany in less than a week and won't be able to update for a week. **

**PS: The new epi was amazing as hell, right? Shirtless Ward...ohhhh **

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**Chapter 12**

- What if you had been kidnapped? Skye, were you even listening when I told you about the possible danger you could be in?

Coulson was pacing around the office and Ward kept throwing worried looks at me, his face serious and deep in thought.

- But I thought the key word was 'possible'! Besides, I'm not even sure if anyone was actually following me!

As I said the word 'possible' the two of them looked at me incredulously but kept silent. Then after some moments of tension, Coulson said:

- You two can go. Have some rest before we land. Skye, run the video feed from that shopping mall in the morning. Maybe you'll be able to identify someone from the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.

When we were lying in bed, Ward asked me:

- Skye, why did you get up so early? You've never done that before.

- I was having a weird recurring dream and I… I woke up and then I fell asleep again but the dream always came back. So I felt awful and in the end I couldn't sleep anymore.

- Was it a bad dream?

- Yes.

- Why didn't you wake me up?

- Grant, I didn't want to, you looked so peaceful and I thought I should let you sleep while you can.

- I wish I had woken up, I should have felt that you had left and that you weren't with me. Then nothing would have happened to you.

- Stop blaming yourself, please, it wasn't your fault! I was very careful not to wake you.

- Never do that to me again, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you… I'm supposed to protect you, especially now when you are not able to protect yourself.

I put my hand on his hand that was resting on my waist and squeezed it. From the way he acted and looked at me and touched me, everything he did, I could literally feel his love for me. We had a bond connecting us to each other that couldn't be torn, I knew that. I also knew that he was the one, that no one could love me more than he did, because it was just impossible.

- I love you, Grant. Every day the feeling gets stronger, and every time I think there's no way to love someone more than I love you, you prove that it is. There is no limit to my love for you. I understand why you want to protect me so much, I wish I could do the same for you. I never want you to get hurt or… or worse…

I couldn't say the word. It seemed it would physically and emotionally hurt me even to think about it.

- Don't worry about it. I will always come back to you, no matter what. I love you with everything I have. You are the most important person in the world for me and I love you unconditionally.

His words brought tears to my eyes. I closed my eyes but they kept coming. I laid my head on his chest and hugged him tightly.

- You are my most important person in the world too. I don't even know how I deserved you.

- You deserve the best, Skye. And you are the best thing that ever happened to me. That's why I always want to protect you, and you shouldn't be mad, because I'm determined to keep you for good. So don't even think of going anywhere out of my sight.

I laughed.

- Even to the bathroom?

- That I can handle, don't worry…

We had a laugh and then he kissed me goodnight and together we fell into a dream world.

_I was sitting on the beach, leaning on my elbows and watching the ocean in front of me. The weather was a bit windy but it was warm nonetheless. I buried my feet in sand and took a deep breath of the fresh air. I was happy, so very happy, like never before. _

_The beach was deserted, except for me and a man with a little girl who were jumping the waves. I could hear them laughing from where I sat. I smiled and looked at the rings on my left hand, the engagement ring and the wedding band. _

_Then I saw my husband and daughter of about 3 years of age approaching me. They were still laughing, then he picked her up and she squeaked just the way I do. She had long brown hair and brown eyes, his eyes, she was perfect, a beautiful mix of myself and him. When they came near, she reached out for me and said "Mommy!" and my heart skipped a beat. _

_I took her in my arms and looked at Grant who sat down next to me. I could see "I love you" just in the way he looked at me. I held our daughter tight and he put his arm around me and kissed me softly. Then he kissed me again and again and said:_

- _Skye… Skye…_

- _Yeah…_

- _Time to get up._

- _No, let's sit here some more. We love it here, right, Hayley?_

- _Skye… _

- _Skye._

Gradually, I opened my eyes and saw Grant's face. I was in the bunk and it was dark. It was a dream. But it was so real…

Grant gave me a gentle kiss on the lips and asked:

- So was it a good dream?

How did he know?

- What dream?

- The one you were having just now.

I thought about the dream and how perfect it was and couldn't help smiling. I just hoped it would become a reality someday.

- Yes.

- And who is Hayley?

My eyes got wide and my heart started beating fast. How did he know about that? I surely wasn't going to tell him I had a dream about us and that we had a daughter there. Whose name was Hayley, which is such a beautiful name.

- It doesn't matter.

- Just tell me.

- No.

I was still that stubborn and my heart kept beating hard against my chest but he didn't want to put up with that. Typical Ward.

- Skye. You're killing me. I thought we agreed to tell the truth to each other, no matter what. And I can feel your heart beating fast, you know? It was something important.

- Grant, that was just a dream! I'm not lying to you and I'm not going to, ever.

I desperately tried to keep that dream to myself. What if I tell him about it and he will think I want to have a baby or something? I was scared of telling him and he must have sensed my fear.

- What could there be in your good dream that you don't want to share it with me? Wait…

He studied my face carefully and continued:

- Skye, what are you scared of?

- I…

May saved me announcing through the intercom that we were about to land in Toronto. I knew though that we wouldn't forget to ask me again.

There wasn't an actual mission in Toronto, we were to take some super-new super-important device and fly it to a secret base in Africa. Nothing much. I was eager to go to Africa, although I couldn't figure out why. My mind was a difficult thing to understand. Poor Grant, I wondered how he found it in him to cope with me. And I was happy he did.

After we have got the device and got back on the bus, Coulson (oh yeah, my father) reminded me to run the video feed, and reluctantly (I really didn't want to get into this), I did just that. I've run facial recognition on the people who were in the mall that day but got no results. I thought that was it, no one was following me and felt relieved.

About to leave the room and to go speak to my father, I saw him coming in.

- So I've run facial recognition and got no results.

- Did you check the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' database?

- No. Why?

- Do it right now.

Okay, it was weird. Why would anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. be watching me? And didn't my father trust the system, like he said before?

- But why?

- Do it.

He was looking at me with such a glare that I didn't dare say a word, just did what he asked. I wondered if it was a father-daughter thing, when the father asks and the daughter just complies. Not often in my situation though, I had to admit, me being stubborn as hell and stuff. Poor Daddy.

After a few minutes I've got a match. I didn't manage to say a word when I heard Grant's voice behind my back.

- What the fuck did Agent Matthew Gray want from Skye?

I jumped and turned around to face him. He looked furious and ready to hit the guy.

Coulson answered:

- Whatever it is, I'm going to find out. Skye, please delete all the traces of what you've done now. Be fast.

What the fuck is going on? I looked at Grant for answers. He just kept looking at the photo of Agent Gray, and when he snapped out of it, he said:

- Do as he asked, Skye. I think this is serious.

- You scare me.

I quickly deleted every trace of my search, thinking about what was going on. Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. spy on me? What have I done? It certainly didn't have anything to do with the betrayal thing, did it?

I could feel Grant's breath on my neck.

- Is it done?

- Yes.

He sighed and put his arms around my waist, then pulled me close and kissed me on the side of my head.

- Don't be scared. I'm going to protect you, always.

- I know you will. But what about you?

- I'm not the one in danger right now.

- But you're the one I love, which puts you and the team in danger too…

The thing I was most afraid of is putting my family in danger. If anything happened to any of them because of me, I'd never forgive myself. I didn't want them to risk their lives for me. I didn't deserve it.

- Skye, I'm a specially trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, trust me, I am able to take care of myself. It's you I'm worried about.

- I'm sorry.

- For what?

He looked at me, concern all over his face, and caressed my cheek.

- For bringing trouble. It seems that all I do is bring trouble.

I looked down to escape his look. It pained me to see him worrying about me.

- Skye. Look at me.

He took my face in his hands and made me look up. I looked into his beautiful brown eyes, the most beautiful in the whole world, and almost got lost there but then he spoke:

- That's not true. You've made me happy, like I have never been in my whole life. I'm so grateful to have you. You are the sunshine of my life and I'll go to the ends of the earth for you. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you, nothing.

Hot tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't stop them. There was nothing I wanted more at that moment then to be in his arms holding me close that I could hear his heartbeat. I whispered:

- Hug me.

Hardly had I said that when his arms were around me. Inhaling his smell, I wrapped my arms around him and had to ask:

- When did you become such a romantic?

Stroking my hair, he chuckled and said:

- Why are you even asking? You know it perfectly well, princess.

- Do I? Remind me.

- Do you mind if I do that in our bunk, where no one sees?

He pulled me closer to himself, throwing me a dirty look. Well, why would I ever mind a make-out session? Wait! Did he just call it our bunk?

- Well, I don't see any reason to…

Suddenly I felt his arms picking me up. Without words, he did just that and carried me to the bunk. I put my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

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**So here. You like it, huh?**

**I love writing Skyward fluff yeaaaahh, obviously...yep**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry guys that the text looks so weird (I mean the dots), it's Microsoft word web app messing with me. I have a problem with my M Word so I had to use the online app! and I already hate it**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!**

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**Chapter 13 **

In my sleep I felt everything shake wildly. I opened my eyes and saw Grant looking around suspiciously. I asked him, starting to panic:

- Is that turbulence or something?

- I don't think so. There must be something wrong.

I really didn't like the whole shaking thing, and Ward looked worried too.

- Oh my God, are we falling?

- No. Let's go to the lab and find out.

In the lab we found Fitzsimmons leaning over that device we had got in Toronto. Coulson walked in right after us. Ward asked the scientist duo:

- Can you maybe explain what the fuck is going on here?

- It's the device, somehow it got activated and started sending some kind of radio waves that interfere with the aircraft!

Coulson said impatiently:

- Then deactivate it!

- Sir, what do you think we are trying to do here?

Fitz said, showing the same amount of patience, as he was desperate to deactivate the fucking thing, the sooner the better, but he and Simmons kept failing at doing that.

I asked just in case:

- Are we falling?

Fitzsimmons answered in sync:

- NO!

- Good! That's comforting.

Ward wrapped an arm around my waist and whispered:

- Don't be scared, I'm right here.

After a while we heard May's voice on the intercom:

- Guys, if you don't solve the problem soon, we'll have to have an emergency landing. Your device is seriously messing with my navigation system.

Perfect, I thought. Does it mean we're going to fall if we don't have that emergency landing? Okay, I'm seriously afraid of falling.

Right that moment there was a sudden jolt and I lost my balance and was knocked to the floor.

I opened my eyes and couldn't remember how I fell asleep. I saw Grant leaning over me and felt something cold on the back of my head. I heard my father and Fitzsimmons arguing somewhere. Then I felt the throbbing pain in my head and moaned. What the fuck happened to my head?

- Skye! Thank God you woke up.

- What happened?

Now I noticed that Ward was holding a bag of ice or something to my head.

- You fell and hit your head pretty hard. Are you in much pain, baby?

I heard the worry in his voice but couldn't concentrate on much of what he was saying. I closed my eyes, the pain was making me sick. I didn't remember the fall and why was everything shaking?

- Why is the bus so shaky?

My father and Simmons approached the coach where I was lying. I was feeling kind of disoriented. Grant looked more worried than before. Did I miss something? My father asked:

- Skye. What day is it today?

I made an attempt to laugh, because how do I know what day it is, but the throbbing in my head made it hard to do so. Simmons kneeled next to Grant and started checking me.

- How do I know?

- Skye, you look like you might have a concussion. Do you remember what you've done today?

I started thinking about it but my mind was kind of blank. It was hard to think at all, was it even normal? Why was the bus shaking? It was driving me nuts. Grant took my hand in his and I snapped out of my thoughts.

- Skye?

- I feel weird. And why is the bus shaking? I don't like it.

Simmons said:

- She totally has a concussion. She's not thinking clearly, she has partial amnesia and she looks kinda drowsy.

May spoke on the intercom:

- Guys, we're going to land in Western Sahara in 10. You better buckle down, it's going to be harsh.

- Western Sahara? What the hell are we doing in Africa?

As I said that, everyone in the room looked at me worriedly. Grant said:

- We are going to a secret location in Africa to deliver something. Right now we are having an emergency landing.

I heard my father whisper to Simmons "Just how much doesn't she remember?"

Grant buckled me down in a seat right next to him and I held his hand tight as the bus was descending. No need to say that it was painful to be in a sitting position, with the whole crazy shaking (again, where did that come from). My father kept sending me worried looks now and then. Besides, I felt sick and about to throw up. I didn't want to throw up.

Grant looked at me and said:

- You are very pale. Are you feeling unwell?

I could hardly speak. I was sweating and was trying not to throw up.

- I feel sick.

He held my hand tighter and I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on something good, like the man sitting beside me.

- It's going to end soon.

I knew he wanted to do something to help me but he couldn't, so he was feeling awful. He always thought that he had to protect me, and the other members of the team, he was Agent Grant Ward, he always wanted to help and do something, especially when it came to me.

When we finally landed, Fitzsimmons took the device out of the bus right away. I felt better when everything around me got still and unmoving, but the throbbing didn't go anywhere and I still felt sick.

Grant scooped me up and carried me to the bunk. I protested.

- Grant, I think I'm going to throw up. I need the bathroom.

So he had to take me there although all I wanted was to lie down and close my eyes.

I threw up and felt really weak. I hardly managed to brush my teeth, Grant holding me in case I fall.

Back in the bunk, he gave me some painkillers that Simmons had brought me, poor Simmons, now she had to worry about me too, she and Fitz were having a lot of trouble fixing the device already.

I think I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes, and it was a relief because God knows I could bear the headache no longer. The last thing I remembered was Grant kissing me on the forehead and saying "I love you, Skye".

The concussion was messing with my brain because I had some confusing dreams, one falling into the other and making me uneasy. I was trying to wake up but I couldn't, probably the painkillers that Simmons had given me were too strong or something.

The bus was shaking again and this time it was unavoidably approaching the ground, fast. I was alone on the bus, I could tell, because I couldn't find any single member of the team anywhere. I was checking each room again and again but there wasn't a living soul there. I lied on the floor feeling completely helpless, weeping and wondering where my dysfunctional family disappeared to. Did they leave me? Like any other family I was put in did. Maybe I just didn't deserve a family.

But then I remembered what Ward told me so many times… That I deserved that. Being loved. He loved me.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud clash as the bus hit the ground.

I woke up with a scream, breathing heavily. I looked around. I was alone in the room. I wanted to see where Grant and the team was, and as my headache wasn't that bad now, I slowly got out of bed and opened the door.

The bus was empty but then I saw that the rump was opened, and got outside. The sun was shining brightly and made my eyes hurt. I covered them with my right hand and then I heard Grant's voice.

- Skye, why the hell are you up? You need to rest.

- I don't want to be alone. Please, can I sit here?

- How are you feeling? Tell the truth, please.

Saying that, he pulled me into his arms, his hands wrapping protectively around me, his body covering me from the sun, and started stroking my hair soothingly.

- Better, much better. The throbbing is gone. I don't feel sick.

- Good. But you need to rest anyway.

He kissed me on the forehead and led me to where Fitzsimmons were working on something. Of course, he made me sit down in the shade, being afraid I might pass out.

I was curious what Fitzsimmons were doing, so I moved closer to them and their mini lab that they had to install outside.

- What are you doing? And why are we in Sahara or whatever it is?

As I said it, everyone looked at me with wide eyes again, no one saying a word. Fitzsimmons snapped out of it first and started blabbering away about the new case that seemed not even a proper mission at first.

- So since we arrived here and while you were sleeping, we figured that this device is not from this planet at all. That's why it was so hard for me and Simmons to understand how it works.

- So what is it used for then?

- Oh, it's quite genius, if you activate it properly, it is able to turn off power, I mean electricity and all radio signals and stuff like that within the distance of 2000 miles or even more, we haven't figured out the exact radius yet.

- Wow. That would mean that… it could cause hell a lot of damage. But wait, why don't I…

Ward finished my sentence:

- Remember the case? When the device activated during the flight and everything went shaking you fell down and hit your head, hard. But I'm pretty sure I've already told you that. Are you sure you're okay? Something's wrong with your memory.

He made me sit down again and this time joined me on the bench.

- How much don't you remember? Your memory loss frightens me but I guess it could be worse. You could forget all about…

- Us? No way.

I looked at him and smiled.

- You won't get rid of me that easily, Agent Ward.

- Neither will you, miss Skye. Remember about the cuffs?

As he said that, he remembered about the memory loss, and thinking that I probably didn't even remember that, got silent.

I did remember about his promise. I didn't know why he suddenly stopped smiling at me.

- I do. You said that if I pull off something like that again, you'll cuff me to yourself. It's not that I would mind that…

Relief washed over him as he realized that she hadn't forgotten that much at all, probably just one day. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

- That means that you don't remember just one day.

- Do I need to know something?

He hesitated and I knew it was a 'yes'. I was about to ask but I saw my father coming our way. He squatted in front of me and Put his hand on top of mine.

- Skye, are you okay? You got me really worried. Does your head hurt? You shouldn't have got up.

- I swear, I feel much better, the headache is almost gone. I couldn't bear staying in the bunk, I hate being alone these days. Don't worry about me.

I wanted to call him Dad so much but I thought that maybe it wasn't quite appropriate yet. I haven't called anyone a Dad in my whole life. Now I felt like calling this man my Dad but I was too scared to do that.

- Now, how much did she forget?

He asked Grant, supposing that he had already figured that out.

- Apparently, just one day… but I'm worried about her memory anyway. She keeps forgetting some things that happened after she hit her head.

- It's a concussion, Grant! Don't you think it's supposed to be like that?

- Are you a doctor to know that? Hey, Simmons, come here.

Grant just couldn't let it go that easily, he just had to pull Simmons from her work.

She approached us, already knowing why he'd called her.

- How are you feeling, Skye?

With that question, she quickly pulled something from her pocket and shone it into my eyes. I tried to close them because the light was too bright but she didn't let me.

- Don't move. I'm checking your reaction to the light.

Grant asked impatiently:

- Is she okay?

Simmons took her time to answer, checking my vitals and stuff. Then began speaking quickly.

- She will be. The effects of the concussion might be wearing off for a week or more, it depends. So she might still have the amnesia and forget some things and have headaches and dizziness or nausea until her brain recovers.

Ward just hoped it wouldn't be more than a week.

- She might? Which means she might feel fine?

Depends on how her body takes it, yes. Right now I would advise her to sleep and to take those pills again.

Coulson looked at Simmons with gratitude, what would they even do without her, and said:

- Thank you, Jemma.

- You're always welcome, sir. Now I'll go, it seems that Fitz and I are almost done with the device!

Saying that cheerfully and adding "Don't worry about Skye, she's going to be fine" she went back to Fitz.

When she left, both of them, Grant and my Dad, turned their heads to look at me. I knew what that meant and sighed loudly.

- Do I have to…?

- Com'on, Skye, I'll stay with you.

Grant put his right arm around my waist, I knew he was afraid in case I was still too weak to walk (never mind that I came here on my own) and we went to the bunk.

As he was shoving me the pills that I wasn't sure I should take anymore, there was a loud bang somewhere outside. My heart nearly stopped. Almost instantly, we rushed to the door and he tried to make me stay behind but I didn't listen, and we both rushed outside. I was afraid to even imagine what could have happened to the team outside. My breathing got heavy but I didn't pay attention to that, as I was worried sick for my family.

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**So here! **

**I am going to try and update in 2 days time so you don't have to wait long:)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here. Next chapter for you to enjoy! Happy SHIELD Tuesday, guys! Oh and the epi will be released in a couple of hours omg I am so excited!**

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**Chapter 14**

When we ran outside, there was a lot of black smoke there, which made me cough. One by one, I distinguished the members of our team/family coming out of it. Fitzsimmons were all black, literally. Ward screamed:

- What the hell happened here?

Fitz was all too eager to answer:

- Oh, well, we deactivated the device, you see… but I believe we completely destroyed it in the process.

Relieved, I wanted to laugh at the genius scientists that were like a brother and a sister to me, but ended up coughing and was also short of breath. Grant reacted right away and turned to me, my father rushing to my side with May following him.

- Skye! I told you to stay inside! Are you having another asthma attack? Where is your inhaler, dammit?

I could hardly answer but I managed to say "I've no idea", which made him mad but his reaction was fast. He took my arm and pulled me into the bus the to my bunk and started searching for the inhaler, swearing in process, while I was gasping for air and trying to breathe, which was getting harder and harder. My father and May appeared on the doorstep, my father looking pretty pale. Was he that worried over an asthma attack?

It didn't take Grant much time to find the inhaler, after all it is Agent Ward I'm talking about. I was once again amazed at his quick reaction because as soon as he found the inhaler it went straight to my mouth.

I inhaled and it felt so good to breathe again and I felt amazing until I saw my father looking at me, his face all serious, and May with her arms crossed, showing no emotion. He didn't say anything and left, with May following him. Sometimes I thought that she was his shadow, I swear. And I actually liked them together… I mean they did look like they belong together. Stop, what am I thinking? That would make her my step-mom or what?

- What did I say about always having the inhaler with you? God, Skye, asthma is not a joke. And apart from that, you didn't listen to me once again and got yourself into trouble, though I am pretty used to that.

I felt sudden anger building in my chest. He didn't have any right to blame me for that. My voice went up without me even noticing, screaming words I was going to regret saying.

- Well, I can't go to bed with the fucking inhaler in my pants or something, can I? Ward, I just got out of bed and went outside! I wasn't supposed to have a fucking asthma attack! I haven't been having them for years before that incident a few months back!

I realized that was really mean only after I've said the words which I couldn't take back. I came to my senses as fast as I'd gotten mad when I saw his pained expression.

- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude.

He was silent and I mentally slapped myself.

- You know I didn't really mean it, right?

I asked him tentatively and my voice was a little shaky. He let my question go unnoticed. He didn't even look at me and, showing no emotion, just said:

- Just take your pills and go to sleep. You need to rest.

I took the painkillers and lied down, my back to him, feeling terrible for what I'd said to him. I closed my eyes and heard the door close. Great, just great, I thought. Please, don't… cry. Too late, I already felt tears on my cheeks. I was so sick and tired of myself. At least I could fall asleep and forget it all for a while.

I saw the all too familiar dream that I managed to forget when I hit my head. It was lovely to be back in that place where my life seemed so perfect. The sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean, Grant and the little girl that called me 'Mommy' calmed me down, even if for a while. I figured the place was in Hawaii, just the place I wished to have a home in, and wondered how the hell my life had got to be so perfect. Right, that was just a dream but I still hoped that maybe, just maybe I was going to have that life that I was dreaming of.

I opened my eyes slowly and it was pitch black, and figured it was night already. The next thing I registered was an arm around my waist. Grant came back after all, probably still worried sick about my condition. I could feel his back against mine, his arm holding me tight. I heard him say, almost whisper:

- You just said 'Hayley'. You talked in your sleep again.

Busted. Wait. I never talk in my sleep, or do I?

- Sorry.

- Don't. You just gotta tell me who she is. Skye… please. You were having the same dream, right?

Will he ever stop asking? It was amazing though, how I had forgotten the dream but had it again and everything came flooding back… Wait wait… I also remembered the previous day now, the day before I fell and hit my head. Amazing things sleep did to me.

- I was. It was on the beach. I loved the beach. It was so peaceful there.

I thought about it better and continued:

- You were here. I remember…

I hesitated. I couldn't just say it. But it was Grant, my soul mate, and the dream was about him too… He turned me to face him and kissed my shoulder and said, giving me the confidence I needed:

- Don't be scared to tell me. Remember that I love you no matter what and you can tell me absolutely everything.

- I remember us married… and the girl…

- Our daughter?

I caught my breath and looked up. His eyes were full of love. I asked him in a husky voice, still in a state of shock:

- How did you know?

- It was easy to figure out. I don't know. I just knew. And you were calling her name just so gently in your sleep…

We lied in silence but then he said:

- I love the name by the way.

My eyes went wide. I loved it too. But what did it mean? Did he want to have that child from my dream someday just the way I wanted her? It was weird, the feelings the little girl from the dream gave me.

- Me too.

I put my hand on his neck to pull his face closer to mine. I enjoyed being close to him. I always wanted to get as closer as possible, my body just screamed for him. The closer the better, I needed him like air, like water, deep inside I knew I could never live without him like I had before we met, he was my need number one.

I closed my eyes, inhaling his smell that made me drunk, and felt him pull me closer and heard him say:

- I love you, Skye.

I smiled. He just did what I was thinking about, it was becoming a habit of his to read my thoughts.

- I love you, Grant.

I drifted off back to sleep soon, feeling completely at piece in his arms.

The next day we reached the secret base, but we weren't of much use there, having brought a damaged device that would never work again. Coulson warned Fitzsimmons that the people over there wouldn't be satisfied with what they'd done to the device, so it was advisable to tell them that there was no way to deactivate the damned thing without damaging it.

So Fitzsimmons just handed over the useless piece of metal or whatever it was and we were free to go but Coulson decided to stay for a while and let May have some rest. Was he acting protective or something? Did I just feel some vibe coming from the two of them? Oh well, a daughter wants to see her father with someone worthy, which is exactly what I think of May. Can you blame me for that?

I walked into my father's office when I saw May just coming from there. I smiled and winked at her as she was passing me. She showed no emotion, typical.

I wanted to tell something to my father, have been intending to do that for a long time but could never find the time. I wanted him to know that I was happy I'd found him and there was this other thing that I needed to ask him.

- Skye! Hey, how are you feeling? You got me so worried!

- I'm much better, the headache is gone.

- How is you memory? Do you...

He seemed very concerned. it was weird having a Dad, especially one who really cared about me and loved me, saying nothing of the overprotective boyfriend I had. They were a handful. But a handful that I'd never let go.

- Yes. I remembered everything, in my sleep. I had the dream I had had before the memory loss and I just remembered the rest of the day somehow. So yes, I remember about some S.H.I.E.L.D. psycho agent following me.

- Good. I'm really glad you're having a fast recovery. But still, I don't want you to exhaust yourself. No training for a week, just rest. I'll tell Ward you are not allowed to any physical exercise.

I got from calm to furious in a matter of seconds. I was very slow in making progress as it is and now he just wouldn't allow me to train for a WEEK? Stubborn as I was, I protested:

- But Dad!

I realized I'd called him Dad only when it was too late. I felt awkward, because I was intending to ask him first if he was okay with that. I looked down at my feet and bit my lip.

- I mean... You cannot just keep me away from training for a whole week!

- Skye, you just had a brain injury, what do you expect me to do? I say: You are not allowed, and it's not even debatable.

Perfect. Sometimes I think he sees me as a little girl who needs her Dad's supervision. But who could blame him? He didn't have a chance to see me as a little girl, which made me sad. And he also was my boss. God! My Dad was my boss!

- I wanted to say something.

- Go ahead.

I hesitated for a moment, thinking of a better way of expressing my feelings and then the words just started coming out of my mouth.

- I'm really glad that you died for just 8 seconds, you know... before the battle of New York. Because if you had died...

I looked him in the eyes and he did the same, his face totally serious, he finished my sentence:

- We wouldn't have met.

- Yes. I'm so glad you're my father. I'm so glad you and Grant kidnapped me from my van and dragged me into this team. That day my life changed and who could have thought then that you'd be my father and Grant - the love of my life?

- Well, I guess life is unexpected. Now, come give your Dad a hug.

I smiled and without hesitation did just that.

- Can I call you Dad?

- Oh I was hoping you'd want to call me that. Of course you can, I want you to, I'm your Dad after all.

- Thank you, Dad.

Wow, calling someone my Dad felt weird but amazing at the same time.

- Just know it doesn't mean I'm not mad at you for dismissing me from training.

- Since when do you like training anyway?

- Since I got my motivation. I have the best S.O., remember?

I smiled and headed for the door.

I was searching for the said best S.O. and the love of my life and found him reading in the living area.

I sat down next to him, putting my head on his shoulder and looking at what he was reading. I complained:

- My father just dismissed me from training for a week.

- Did you really think I'd let you exercise with your injured head? No way in hell.

- It's not injured. I've almost recovered. I even got the memories back.

- Simmons said your brain would be recovering for at least a week. I'm sorry but she knows better.

I growled and took a deep breath. He was dead serious and there was no chance he'd change his mind.

I just kept sitting pressed to him and watching him read some boring book, classics obviously. After a while I said:

- I'm starving.

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**Promise to update soon! ohhh I am so loving writing this story! **

**Thank you guys for your support! it means a lot!**


	15. Chapter 15

**So I just noticed this chapter is really short so I thought why not publish it now**

**Here you go**

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Chapter 15

I didn't recognize the man at first, thanks to my recent memory loss, but I remembered his name. That's why Grant reacted that way.

- I have no idea what why S.H.I.E.L.D. sent a man after Skye. This information is classified and level 9, so I'm not allowed to access to it. But I need to know the information on this mission or whatever it is.

Everyone looked so serious it scared me. I didn't know what I'd done wrong to get S.H.I.E.L.D. following me. Also, how did they know I'd go into the city that day? Ward was the first to speak:

- So we need to break into level 9 to find info on the agent.

- Yes. There's no other way to find out what they want from my daughter. Probably the very fact that she is on my team is worrying them because their secret might be revealed. The problem is that the only person in this team able to hack into their files is my daughter.

He looked at me, his face serious and worried at the same time. I bet he didn't want me involved into this but had no other choice.

- You want me to do it?

- Only if you can do it without them getting alerted.

- I'm not even sure I can hack into level 9... I could try but it would have to be in the hub.

Grant was getting all worked up and fidgety:

- Sir, are you sure it's safe?

- We need to know that to make sure she's not in any kind of danger. Besides, if she can't do it discreetly then we'll have to find another way.

Simmons seemed to be deep in thought but then asked:

- Sir, but how do we get to the hub?

Coulson answered in his usual tone when he had something on his mind:

- I'll find a way.

My Dad got me worried. I hoped he wasn't going to get involved into something seriously dangerous. But I couldn't say no when he asked me to break into level 9 because I wanted to help him and I was curious myself. Why was I being followed? Was it just one time?

I could see that Grant wasn't okay with me being involved in this, it was written all over his face, that was now filled with worry. I HATED it when he worried about me, it made my heart clench, just as I hated it when he suffered, it made it hard to breathe. He was thinking too loudly. I knew what he was thinking about. Protecting me. He always did that when he saw that I was in possible danger.

When I have thought about it, I was almost 100 % sure I could do that, break into level 9 and see what missions Agent Gray was involved in. The thing was though, I could only have about 5 minutes to do that before S.H.I.E.L.D. got alerted. So maybe I could do this, find out what they want from me and we'd be done with the whole thing, hopefully.

I headed to my Dad's office (gosh it still sounded weird to call him that) to talk to him about what I'd come up with but when I approached the office I could hear someone having a conversation there. Without even thinking I got closer to the door (my ear right on the door) and started eavesdropping.

I recognized Grant's voice right away.

- Sir, with all respect, you're putting her into a dangerous situation. What if she gets caught? How are we going to protect her? Do you even have a backup plan?

- You think I want to do that? I can't let them get close to her, I have to get to them first! If she can do this without getting them alerted she'll be safe. And besides we'll have her back no matter what.

- I can see it. What you want. Revenge. But you know how they say: before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. Skye doesn't need you to revenge the people who've done this to you, Phillip, she doesn't need a dead man as a father, she needs you alive.

- Ward...

- No, just listen to me. It's okay when you want to protect her, it's natural. But revenge is not. It's destructive. It's going to destroy you and then her. Don't drug Skye into this, sir. Protecting her is one thing, I'm with you on that. But revenging is out of the question. I won't have her involved into this.

I was standing behind the door listening carefully to every word he said. Grant just confronted my Dad. He knew I didn't want my Dad to get onto the road of revenge and he'd never let me go even close to that. I thought "God, I swear, I love this man so much I think my heart is going to explode, it's all-consuming''.

- I won't have her get involved. She's my daughter, you know, I can't lose her.

- You get involved, she gets involved too. So don't you dare get into this. Find out why she's been followed, fine. Find what happened in 1991 if you want. But never ever go on that road of destruction.

- You needn't worry about that. I won't. I'll keep her safe, I promise.

I was relieved when I heard these words but then he spoke again:

- And Ward. I just want you to know that Skye's very lucky to have you. You deserve her. I trust you with her life but don't you dare hurt her.

- I never will.

I got so involved that it was too late when I realized that I need to get moving. Suddenly the door opened and I fell right into Grant's arms. I winced and then gave him my most charming smile.

- Busted.

- Eavesdropping, Rookie?

- Sorry, couldn't help it.

I looked at him in a way I knew he couldn't resist and he sighed, still having his arms wrapped around me.

- So I came to tell you that I can get an access to level 9 without getting caught but only for four and a half minutes and in the hub.

Grant looked at me seriously and said:

- All you have to look for is what that agent's got to do with you, nothing more. You understand?

- Yes, sir! But another thing is how we get in the hub. We need a damn good reason to be there, right?

My father said, being all calm and in control of the situation:

- We do. But don't worry about it.

I could see he already had something in mind and wouldn't talk about it just yet. I had another thing I needed him to fix.

- Dad, there's something else.

Both men sent me some concerned looks. Typical.

- What is it?

- Our bed is too small.

His reaction was priceless. He looked totally baffled. Grant, on the contrary, was having fun. After a while Dad came to his senses though and answered:

- Well I thought you two loved to cuddle.

Both Grant and I were taken aback because it was very unexpected to hear these words coming from my Dad's mouth. I spoke first:

- We do but we'd appreciate more space anyway, thank you. The bed is tiny!

- I'll see what I can do. And also, I love it when you call me Dad.

His words made me feel warm inside. I smiled like an idiot.

- Me too. I love you, Dad.

- I love you too, Skye.

That was the first time we ever said the words. It felt amazing to have a parent who loved me. I hugged him tight and then dragged Grant out of the room, having something on my mind for the two of us.

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**I should update really soon so don't you worry ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**tadaaaa here it goes**

**I think you're gonna love this one ;) ohhh I definitely had fun writing it**

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**Chapter 16**

I still had to wait 2 days till I was admitted to training again. I was going crazy because it usually took a lot of my time and now I had that extra time to spare. I got to spend more time in the lab with Fitzsimmons though, watching that smartass duo do experiments. I swear from time to time they were so close to blowing up the lab and probably the whole bus.

I talked to Jemma a lot. We became very close, very close to best friends. Whenever we were annoyed or excited or sad we knew we could confide in each other. She was fun, we had an amazing time with her, whether it be with the boys or just us.

But I was feeling fine and was begging Grant to allow me a mini training session. At first I tried to influence him by staring in his eyes with sad sad eyes, then seducing him, then denying to touch him or kiss him and I almost gave it up because it was becoming unbearable for me but then he surrendered.

- Skye, you can't just not let me touch you! This is ridiculous and you know it!

He said it, his lips in a line, looking very annoyed and desperate and pointing his finger at me.

- Why not? I have a right. This is my body.

He laughed almost hysterically. We haven't touched since last night and it was almost 9 in the evening. I was craving his touch, I thought I could jump at him any moment and kiss him hard on the lips.

He groaned and closed his eyes for a moment.

- Skye…

- And yeah, you're sleeping in YOUR bunk tonight.

Of course I didn't mean it. I mean I totally did, the difference would be that I'd just go to sleep in his bunk, that's all. He didn't need to know that though.

That was the last straw. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment and said:

- Okay, okay. You win.

I couldn't believe it. I was ready to give up myself… just now. I chirped happily:

- Good! Let's go train then!

I was about to head for the gum but he grabbed me and kissed me senseless, pinning me to the nearest wall. The kiss was so passionate and sensual that my heart nearly stopped and I felt my knees go weak. I almost crumbled to the floor but he reacted fast and pulled me up and I wrapped my legs around his torso. I was tearing his T-shirt from him when I heard someone cough and say:

- Get a room you two.

Shit, that was my Dad. I opened my eyes and blushed as I saw him standing in the hall next to us. That was totally awkward.

- Sorry, Dad! Oh my God this is so awkward.

I quickly got off my boyfriend and we ran to our bunk, locking the door and continued what we started in the hallway.

In between kisses and undressing he managed to utter:

- Someone wanted to have a training session.

I just couldn't bother to say anything and he continued:

- So much for not wanting me to touch you, Rookie, huh?

I was panting and was a bit distracted by his body that I had missed so much, although it's been less than a day, but then managed to answer:

- Who said I actually meant it?

He groaned and pulled me close so that I was pinned to him.

- Such a tease. God, Skye, you're…

I shut him with another passionate kiss, desperate to feel his lips on mine where they belonged.

The bed was really tiny for our make-out sessions and as much as I loved to be pinned to Grant all the time, it was almost impossible to move. We needed a proper bed, I thought after I hit my elbow against the wall and gave out an "Ouch", getting Grant's attention immediately as he asked if I was okay and then kissed the hurting elbow gently.

My Dad will have to do something about the bed situation.

So the next day Grant took me to the training area but the trick was that he only meant firing a gun when he agreed to get back to training earlier.

- Only gun shooting, only wearing ear protectors. This is as far as it gets. You need a lot of practicing there anyway.

I couldn't believe he tricked me like that. But at least I could do something useful.

- You tricked me! I can't believe you tricked me!

- Well, you thought I'd let you combat when you just got hurt? It's dangerous, when are you going to understand that?

- I just feel like I'm not getting anywhere with the training! I feel like I'm a hopeless student and I'm letting you down!

- Skye, chill! You are definitely making progress and surely not letting me down! I'm proud of you! You've come so far.

He put his hands on my cheeks and caressed them, looking into my eyes. Then he repeated with so much emotion in his voice it made my heart skip a beat.

- I'm so proud of you.

- Really?

- Of course. You're my favorite student.

Okay, this wasn't funny. How can he say that if I'm his first rookie? There's no one to choose from really.

- But you've only had one! Me!

- Okay, put it that way: you're my favorite rookie, my favorite girl, my favorite human being. My first and last student, I swear.

- What is that supposed to mean? I'm so bad and annoying and pain in the ass that you can't deal with training anyone else?

- Skye, are you stupid or just pretending? You are too special, you're my rookie and no one else would be able to take this place. I don't want to train anyone else except for you, okay?

Was he serious? I never expected to hear anything like this from Agent Grant Ward. I thought he would train me and get some practice, then go on to train other people… But never had I thought he'd say something like that. I wanted to cry from happiness and because he made me feel just so special, I have never felt anything like this before.

- Okay.

I smiled shyly at him, looking down.

- Skye?

I had only one thing on my mind. I looked up and out of a sudden wrapped my arms around his neck taking him by surprise.

- I love you, Grant!

He instinctively put his strong arms around my body when we touched and I felt something tingling inside me as my stomach pressed against his body. I felt safe and I felt loved. I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment but heard the all too familiar British accent.

- Well, Fitz, aren't they cute? All touchy-feely and cuddly…

We pulled away annoyed to be interrupted and looked at the British duo.

- … and just adorable! I swear if you told me Agent Ward could go all soft when I first met him I'd just laugh at you.

On the word 'soft' Grant slightly groaned and was about to leave when I grabbed him by the T-shirt saying "Wa-wa-wait! We came here to train! You promised!" and he had to stay and listen to the ramblings of our brilliant British duo whom I loved to bits and was really enjoying their company. I think Ward did too, he just wasn't ready to admit it just yet.

When Fitzsimmons left for the lab we were finally able to begin our firing lesson.

He put the ear protectors around my neck and gave me a handgun. The targets were put on the opposite wall.

I took the gun, flipped the safety off, gripped it in my hand and put my fingers on the trigger. I narrowed my sight and aimed at the target (or so I thought). He watched me silently for a while then said:

- Okay, you're so doing it wrong. First, when you pick up the gun, keep your finger outside the trigger guard.

He took my hand that was holding the gun and carefully removed my finger from the trigger guard. Then standing behind my back he put his hands on mine and pointed the gun in the fire-ready position.

- Now, put your thumb on one side of the grip and keep your middle, ring and pinky fingers curled just below the trigger guard. Grip it tight.

I did but he shook his head.

- No. Tighter. Tighter, Skye. Grip it so tightly that your hand begins to shake.

- You know I've already shot a person.

- And you shouldn't have and you were lucky not to get hurt.

He said it in his I-know0it0better voice and I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see that.

- And don't roll your eyes. Concentrate. Grip the gun. Tight. And steady it with your other hand.

My eyes went wide. How the hell was he doing that? But I obeyed and did what he asked.

- Good. It's very important to make sure both your thumbs are clear of the slide of the hummer. Otherwise you can injure your thumb by the slide or worse drop the gun with the safety off, which is extremely dangerous. You might shoot yourself. Do you understand that?

He emphasized 'extremely dangerous' and I rolled my eyes again. So overprotective.

- Yes, sir.

- Repeat what I just said.

- Can't we just shoot?

- No until you repeat what I just said to you.

Annoyed, I repeated his words, not without him correcting me all the way and asking to repeat it again correctly. He was such a pain in the ass, such a damn pain in the ass that I loved so much.

- Next, your feet should be shoulder-width apart, your right foot about a step past the other foot.

He checked my position then proceeded. I was bored and regretted ever agreeing to this. But how in hell could I know that he'd turn this into a lecture? I was hoping to fire the gun and have fun!

- Make sure you're firmly balanced. Now, aim by looking with your dominant eye and closing the other eye. When aiming, remember that your front sight should be just below the point you're aiming for. Fix the gun on the target… and insert the trigger finger into the trigger guard.

I thought I really was close to firing the gun when he said:

- Also, control your breathing. Shoot immediately upon exhaling. Holding your breath will make you shaky and inaccurate. Now. Move your finger onto the trigger but don't rush it. Don't release the trigger suddenly and don't drop your posture.

- Is that all, S.O.?

I could feel him breathing into my neck, his hands still on mine.

- Yes. Squeeze the trigger but don't jerk it.

He put the ear protectors over my ears and I shot into the target several times. I stopped, took off the protectors and went to look where I'd hit the target. Two shots were in the heart. I showed it to Ward and smiled proudly.

- You see, S.O.? Isn't it amazing?

- Good job, Rookie. Now do it without my help.

I did the round several more times and he was telling me some tips how to aim more accurately when I heard my father's voice behind our backs.

- Did I hear gun shooting? I better not.

We both tuned around to look at him, me still holding that gun. Busted.

- Oh, Dad! Look I didn't miss the target and actually…

I didn't get to finish. He looked very mad, irritated and well, serious.

- Ward! What did I say about training her this week?

- Sir…

- Dad! I wore ear protectors, it's totally fine! I made him train me today, I am bored out of my MIND!

- Simmons approved, sir.

Hearing that, his expression softened but just a little bit.

- I'm still your boss and when I say "You're not allowed" I mean it. Next time you don't obey you're going to have big trouble, young lady.

Pointing at me to show how serious he is (ha, as if!) he turned around and left us alone.

- See how your stubbornness just got us into trouble?

He looked at me with his I-told-you look. I just gave him a most charming smile and said:

- Oh shut up, S.O., it was totally worth it!

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**I'm going to update tomorrow before I leave for my trip! at least I hope so! I still haven't packed omg! **


	17. Chapter 17

**So here it is, as promised! sorry but I won't be able to update for the next 7-8 days! **

**enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter 17**

My father called the team meeting and we were waiting for him to show up. Almost a month has passed since he decided to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. I had a feeling this meeting had something to do with that. It was a Sunday and I really didn't want another mission after a very busy month we've had. I hoped to spend some time together with Grant, not go on another mission. So that was what I was thinking about when my father entered the room.

- Team, we'll be flying to the hub in a few hours. You can still have your Sunday off though, as we won't get into the hub until tomorrow morning.

I was wondering what excuse he'd thought of to get into the hub. He looked very pleased but I knew he was hiding his worry of something going wrong deep inside. I decided to ask:

- So what's our excuse?

- We need to have the bus checked, some things replaced, stuff like that, you know.

- Brilliant! Simple and easy!

Fitz just couldn't help exclaiming. I looked at him standing in his usual spot next to Jemma and smiled.

- Skye. Are you sure you can do this safely?

- Yes. Someone with a high level access will need to go and switch off their security, which will switch back on in four minutes and a half. That's it. Someone switches it off, I get the access to the data.

- Sounds like a plan.

Grant cut in:

- I'll do it.

I turned my head in his direction and gave him a glare. My father disagreed, thankfully.

- No. I will.

- Sir…

- You'll stay with Skye. That's an order. If anything goes wrong, you take care of her. Understood?

- Yes, sir.

I got kind of anxious about this. What could possibly go wrong? I had it all planned, as we would be in the hub anyway, there could be no suspicion as to why Coulson is walking around the hub, hanging out there, you know… everything should go well and according to plan. So why are Grant and Dad so worried about me once again? It's been driving me crazy, their being worried without any proper reason. They deny me too many things. Like having fun, for example. Surely they can't deny me having fun! They were so annoying at times, being all rational and responsible and stuff.

- I don't need to be looked after. It's not that I have not done this before, you know.

My father wasn't having any objections.

- Skye, just stop being so stubborn. Besides, we did kidnap you from your van when we found out you'd hacked S.H.I.E.L.D., remember? So it would make sense to take precautions this time.

I remembered that day when the door to my van suddenly slid open in the middle of my epic speech, when I turned my head and saw two men in dark suits. One smiling, one with a poker face. Who would have thought that day that the man with no emotions on his face would be the love of my life and the other – my father? It was amazing how just one day could change my life forever. I smiled at the memory.

- Skye? Hello!

I jerked my head, coming back from my thoughts, and turned my attention back to the team.

- Yeah.

Grant inspected me from his spot beside me. His arms were crossed on his chest and face looked so serious, it was the typical picture of Agent Ward. To me, he actually looked kind of funny and I could hardly keep myself from giggling.

- Are you even listening?

- Yes.

- Why didn't you answer when I called you? Three times.

He emphasized the last two words and I pursed my lips not to smile because he looked very cute. I know he was talking about serious matters but I just couldn't help it so please, don't judge me.

- I don't know.

- Skye! Wake up, this is serious.

He raised his voice and everyone turned their attention to us. I answered in the same voice range, feeling quite angry at him.

- Wow, calm down. I'm wide awake.

He was about to make another remark but my father was the first to speak:

- You two stop it NOW. We're here to agree on a plan, you can have your argument when we're done.

We answered "Yes, sir" in unison and I couldn't help thinking that we're getting just like Fitzsimmons. It was a good thing, right?

Twenty minutes later we were done and I hurried to leave the room. I got pretty mad at Grant, although there was no rational reason for that because all he did (of course!) was trying to keep me from harm's way. But the angry me said that he shouldn't have raised his voice at me and he shouldn't be so worried about nothing.

There weren't a lot of places on the bus where I could have some time alone, even in May's car because everyone seemed to check it and eventually find me there, so I just headed to the bunk and lay down on my bed closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

It should be simple: get into the hub, switch off the security, get access to their data and find the necessary information. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. So why is Grant so worked up about the whole thing?

I lay in silence and with every passing minute I felt less mad at him. Oh I could never be mad at him for too long, it was just impossible. This man could annoy the hell out of me and make me want to kiss him senseless in a matter of seconds. He could wake a storm of feelings in me I'd never known before. It was a pretty weird but absolutely blissful thing, being madly in love with him.

Besides, love songs started making sense, which was something new. Also, I started to realize that I'd do anything for him, as my life would make absolutely no sense without him by my side, and this was something that frightened me. Even the thought of something happening to him made me panic.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is his voice calling my name. I really didn't want to open my eyes, I was so comfortable and warm, but he wouldn't give up trying to wake me.

- Skye. You just earned yourself 30 extra push-ups.

I groaned in protest. How in hell did I deserve that?

I felt his lips on my forehead and smiled. I loved it when he kissed me on the forehead. Or when he kissed me. Okay, whenever he touched me too. I loved jis closeness and the feeling I got when we touched.

I opened my eyes at last and saw his beautiful brown eyes staring at me.

- I'd say morning sunshine, but it's not even morning now, princess.

He said that and kissed me on the lips softly. He was about to pull away but I put my arm around his neck and deepened the kiss. God, I could never be mad at him for more than half an hour. Well, maybe in some cases for more than an hour.

When we pulled away, he said:

- You gotta get up, princess, otherwise you'll sleep through the whole day.

- If I get out of this bed, you'll have to entertain me, Agent Ward.

- That won't be such a problem.

Well, who could doubt Grant's definition of entertainment? He made me get out of comfortable bed only to drag me into the training area. First I did the undeserved push-ups then we went to combat, which was always exhausting. Com'on, it's a Sunday! Shouldn't he have more mercy?

I was trying my best to outdo him. Since he started training me, I've never outdone him. So this was my goal for now, to push him to the mat the way he pushed me. I ended up lying on the mat with him on top (I wouldn't really complain about THAT) just way too many times. And it wasn't a very pleasant feeling to fall on that mat over and over again.

Today was the day I was determined to make him pay. I was planning on taking him down performing some unexpected move that would take him by surprise so he wouldn't have time to react. I had to be faster than him. It wasn't going to be easy, considering his speed of reaction.

So imagine his face when I finally knocked him on that mat. I was sitting on top of him, short of breath and smiling.

At first there was shock, then confusion, then realization of what just happened, then came pride because he finally managed to teach his rookie how to combat, well, at least she made major progress.

- How did you..?

- Ha! Well, I thought the only way I could outdo you is take you by surprise. Looks like I was right. You are so predictable, Agent Ward.

I leaned and kissed him on the lips slowly and teasingly. Right then, I was in total control over him and I liked that.

His hands went to grab my hips and I gasped. Maybe he wasn't that predictable after all… Then he deepened the kiss and pulled me closer to him so I was pinned to his body.

- You totally got me today, I never saw it coming.

- Oh shut up.

I crushed my lips back on his where they belonged as he turned me over and pressed me against the mat leaning over me, his lips never leaving mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist and his hand slipped inside my tank top, sending shivers down my spine, making me moan from pleasure.

- You just can't get enough of each other. Get a room.

We heard a voice and it was May, of course. We turned our gazes in the direction of the voice and saw her back as she was already leaving for the cockpit. I groaned in frustration, she just had to catch us making out over and over again.

Wait. Did I just hear Grant giggle? I looked at him and indeed, he was giggling quietly, his face inches from mine. I asked slightly worried about his mental state.

- Are you okay?

- I'm just great.

He leaned closer and started planting kisses on my face, still smiling like an idiot.

- I just love you so much.

- Is that why you're laughing? Because I don't see it as something to laugh at.

I asked, feigning offence.

- Oh no, baby, of course not. The way May reacts to our make-out sessions is just priceless. You just… you just gotta see her face!

He burst out laughing and I did too, and we just looked like a couple of idiots, he on top of me, laughing on the mat. A perfect couple of idiots, though, if you ask me.

- Great job, Rookie.

He said, giving me a kiss on the lips.

- I believe I deserved some fun time with you, Agent Ward.

- You think so?

He went on to kiss my neck and then collarbone and shoulder blade, removing the strap of my tank top. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the moment, my hands roaming in his hair. I don't know how much time passed when he whispered into my ear:

- I think we should move to our bunk. I won't be able to restrain myself for much longer.

I smiled at the 'our bunk' thing.

- Oh I wouldn't quite call it restraining yourself, Agent Grant…

I said as he was about to remove my tank top, kissing my stomach and making me ticklish. I already felt goose bumps spreading all over my body.

- It takes me my last self-control not to have you right here and now.

All of a sudden, he pulled away and I felt cold and my body missed his immediately. But as I thought about it I felt his strong arms around me, lifting me up from the mat.

- You wanted some fun? I'm giving it to you, Rookie.

With these words he carried me to our bunk, locking the door behind himself so no one interrupts us this time. A huge smile spread on my face as he joined me in our bed, our bodies coming together in a passionate dance.

After a few quality make-out sessions, as we were lying in bed and he was holding me in his arms, I got an idea of what to do with the rest of our Sunday.

- Play battleships with me.

- You are so demanding today, miss Skye.

I blurted out in an offended voice:

- Is that so much to ask for?

He looked down at my pouty face and groaned in frustration. The pouty face worked more often than not and I knew that.

- Okay, okay. I'll play battleships with you.

A huge smile spread on my face and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He frowned.

- Is that everything I get for agreeing to play with you? Not good.

- Yes, for now it's all you get. And please don't make it sound like I'm an annoying child you have to play with.

- Oh the hell with it.

Saying that, he crushed his lips into mine faster than I could think or say anything. Like I said, this jerk was tricking me all the time.

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**No cliffhanger for you, cuz it would just be cruel...**

**and your reviews are like Chrismas gifts to me! so thank you guys 3**

**see you in a week or so :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh my, I'm sooo sorry it took so long! I arrived on Sunday and I had a tough journey home! and then all the uni shit came upon me:( **

**So here it goes, I hope it's good enough! **

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**Chapter 18**

Monday morning came fast. As much as I was confident in myself and that everything was going to go well, I still had that feeling of worry in the pit of my stomach that I tried to hide and desperately wanted to get rid of. I didn't want the family to get even more worried than they already were. So I decided that I should just suck it up and do what I had to do, to extract the information we needed.

I couldn't not blame S.H.I.E.L.D. for keeping all the secrets, especially from their own agents. It was so not fair and I wanted to do something about it. But the thing was that I couldn't do anything about it. I was useless and they were too powerful, I wasn't even a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, just a miserable consultant, and I swear I was sick and tired of the 'consultant' shit already. I just wished Ward would hurry up and tell Coulson I was ready to be an agent. That was the thing that was driving me to action. I wasn't sure though if it was a bad or a good thing but it got my job done alright.

As our team was entering the hub, my father told us a few more times to be extremely cautious and I couldn't help rolling my eyes, which got my two very concerned men glaring at me with their "This is no joke" looks. It's not that I wasn't aware of how serious the situation was, it was the ridiculous behavior of the two that almost got me climbing the walls. Seriously, will they ever stop?

I felt Grant's eyes on me again and heard him say:

- Don't look at me like that. All I want is to protect you.

- I know that! You've told it about a million times!

I answered quite sharply, immediately realizing how rude I sounded and that I let my frustration and worry get the better of me. I knew deep inside that Grant, as well as my father, couldn't be blamed for wanting to protect me, because I understood it now, the feelings he was feeling, I felt them too and never did I want him to get hurt, ever. The very thought hurt me both physically and emotionally, scaring me and often making it hard to breathe.

- I'm sorry.

I apologized feeling guilty for treating him in the way he didn't deserve. He took my hand in his and squeezed it in a comforting way and it sent waves of warmth though my body. I squeezed his hand back reassuringly, the tension leaving me.

Probably for a hundred's time I thought how did I ever deserve a man willing to deal with me, my stubbornness, stupidity, irrationality and the whole Skye pack. I was such a damn lucky girl. Sometimes it made me want to sing or to bounce like an idiot because I had him in my life. And having him in my life made me hopeful that all the evil in the world couldn't go against us. That we would always win, that we would have the life we wanted, that no matter what we had each other. We had each other and it was the reason to keep going, together.

Coulson left the bus to the special S.H.I.E.L.D. team to check everything and do some renovations, not without telling them not to ruin his home and not to touch Lola, and headed to Maria Hill's office, leaving the team to wander around the hub and get prepared for our secret mission.

A secret mission sounded like fun to me, which I was sure as hell didn't seem any fun for the rest of them, maybe only for Jemma. It was me who saw things in a different light, me who was able to have some actual fun (never minding whatever Fitzsimmons considered fun, it was their own weird thing). This attitude also helped me overcome the stress from our missions, although not always. When someone from the family team was in danger there was no way for me to stay calm.

When my father finished talking to Hill (hell knows what they've been talking about!) we heard his voice in our ears.

- Team, are you ready?

He said it and it was followed by multiple 'Yes sir's (only Fitzsimmons managed to say it at the same time of course).

- Let's do it then.

I already had my laptop opened and ready to hack. I was kind of excited because I've never hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s level 9! This was something new in my hacker experience. Grant didn't fail to notice the signs of my excitement.

- Skye. Please, you need to get serious. This is not something you could call fun. It's not…

- … a game, I know! I am serious. I am. But it doesn't mean it's not something I've been dying to do for quite some years!

- What?

- I've been looking forward to this moment for so long!

- So why haven't you done it before then?

I saw Grant tense up as his eyes studied me.

- Like I said, I need to get very close to hack such a high level.

- I'm never letting you do anything like this ever again so I guess you might as well enjoy it while you can.

Good… Wait, what? Never again? Why? How dare he tell me what I can and cannot do? I was about to protest but my father spoke:

- Guys, I'm almost there. Skye, are you ready? You'll need to do this really fast.

- Yes, sir!

I just loved to say 'Yes, sir' even if it was my father. It just sounds so cool, right? Even though it might seem weird to call my Dad 'Sir' I liked it and besides, it was still a secret that he was my Dad. So I could as well call him that.

- Okay. So I'm here. What's next?

I explained to him how to open the hidden door in the wall and which buttons to push to get us the access to the great level 9, as I called it. I set up a stop-watch for four and a half minutes and put it near the laptop. Ward was pacing somewhere behind my back.

- All done. You should have the access now.

- Oh, yes, yes, I got it. Thanks, Daddy!

With shaky hands I typed in the agent's name to find the mission we needed.

There it was. The mission. I froze for a moment but Grant's voice brought me back.

- Skye! Open it dammit!

I opened the file and read the description of the mission, but the trick was that I didn't quite get it. It said that the agent was given an order to keep an eye on Skye Coulson and eliminate any threat to her life. So S.H.I.E.L.D. really knew the truth about me. But why would they keep me secret from my father? And why would they want to protect me? Who the hell am I?

I felt Grant's breath on my neck and then he said:

- Check his other missions, quick!

Quickly, as I was told, I went back to the missions and started looking through the others. There were too many. The agent has been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for more than twenty years. I was about to panic, not knowing what to do but then Grant said:

- Look at what he was doing in 1992.

I frowned. Why?

Wait, that's the year I was born. What was he thinking about?

There was just one mission. A secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was killed during an operation but the details were missing, except for her having a child… who was put in an orphanage under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection… The child's name wasn't mentioned but the woman was called Samantha Mathers.

I grasped and kept looking at the screen. The time ran out and all the files disappeared but I sat not moving and not saying a word, looking at the same spot on the screen where the file used to be.

Was my mother dead? I never thought about it. I only supposed that she had abandoned me, not even telling my father that I existed, leaving me on my own. Deep inside I was hurt that she had done it. Except she didn't. Because she was dead. I took a long breath and then noticed that Grant was calling my name and shaking me, his hands on my shoulders, trying to bring me back from the state I was in.

- Skye! Skye! Say something dammit!

It was hard to concentrate and hard to move. I was still looking at one and the same spot, this time not the screen, just random spot on the wall.

That's when my father entered the room and asked what was going on. Grant was already screaming.

- She's in shock. Skye! Skye! Look at me!

As I still wasn't responding, he cursed and said something to my father that sounded very much like an order.

The next thing I felt is water on my face. I gasped and gave a scream. Ward said gently:

- Skye, baby, look at me.

I looked at him, taking some deep breaths, and saw relief on his beautiful face. My father was kneeling right next to Grant, holding my hand.

- Will anyone tell me what the hell happened here? What did you find?

As I wasn't quite able to talk about that, so Grant did.

- I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to hurt Skye, sir. They were in fact following her to make sure she was safe. She is under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection.

I looked at my father. He looked confused and perplexed and I could hear him thinking.

- I don't understand. I don't understand why they want to keep the truth from me, to keep my daughter from me. She's mine! But at the same time they let me have her on my team. So what do they want?

It was now or never. I needed to know the name of my mother.

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**so yeah I think it's time for Skye to know who her mother was/is**

**I'll try to update soon, I promise!**

**thank you for reading! I love you guys!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Here you go, guys! A little bit of drama, a little bit of fluff for you in this one. Enjoy!**

**ah and thank you for following/favoriting and reviewing! It's always appreciated! xxx**

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**Chapter 19**

Finally after all these months of knowing who my father was I was ready to know who my mother was. Deep inside I already knew. She was dead. And I would never get to know her the way I got to know my father.

I took a deep breath and fired away, determination in my voice:

- Who's my mother?

My father looked at me with wide eyes, obviously surprised at the sudden change of the topic. An answer didn't come so I repeated:

- Tell me the name of my mother.

- Skye, I don't really think it's the time or the place…

But I needed the answer now and I didn't have it in me to wait any longer. I wanted to know who my mother was and, most importantly, if she was dead. It broke my heart thinking about it. I felt something tight in my chest and was about to start weeping. His answer only made me angry and I said in a very determined voice:

- TELL. ME. MY. MOTHER'S. NAME. NOW.

That got both of the men looking at me in surprise.

- Skye, what's got into you? Why do you suddenly want to know it? All this time you didn't want to know…

I was on the verge of a breakdown once again. He had to answer my question right there and then.

- I said tell me my mother's name.

I said it much louder this time and stared at him, not looking away, my face serious and angry as hell. Grant sent him a look which said 'you better do'.

- She was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent too…

He paused and I gasped. I knew what he was about to say, the name he was about to tell me. I help my breath in dread.

- Her name was… Samantha Mathers.

I gasped for air and a few tears rolled down my face. Looking at Grant. I saw his eyes on me as he moved closer to give me emotional as well as physical support.

Slowly starting to weep as full realization dawned upon me, I half-whispered:

- She's dead. My mother's dead.

I felt Grant's arms wrap around me and pull me onto his lap. I leaned into him, feeling weak and was grateful for his knowing that I'd have collapsed without him. My father though couldn't quite understand what was going on there.

- What? What do you mean? How do you know?

Grant looked me in the eyes asking me with the look if he should tell it himself, then turned to Coulson to answer his question:

- We've come across another mission that connected that agent to Skye, or better said, to her mother. Samantha Mathers was killed during a mission in 1992. S.H.I.E.L.D. put her child under protection and hid her in St Agnes orphanage. That's how Skye got there. She is the child of Samantha Mathers.

Grant finished and Coulson didn't say anything for a long while, thinking about what he'd said. I ran out of tears and looked at one spot in the ceiling. I was thinking of the painful truth. I wished I didn't know it. My mother was dead. The mother who wanted me, who never abandoned me, the one I needed and could have. But I didn't. Neither did I have a father. I couldn't help thinking that maybe if my mother had told him about my existence then I could still have had a father growing up. But I couldn't blame her for not doing that. She died and that was painful enough.

Grant held me close to his chest and his heart beat calmed me down. He was alive, I was alive, my father was alive. I should just be grateful I turned out to be there with them, with my family, the only family I got to have. I put my arms around Grant and hugged him tight.

My father was the first to come back from his thoughts.

- I'm sorry, Skye. I'm sorry, I didn't even know…

I replied in a weak voice:

- You couldn't know. It's level 9.

- I'm sorry for everything that had happened to you as a child. I feel awful.

I felt new tears appearing on my face. And I felt sorry for my father because there was absolutely nothing he could have done back then as he had no idea I even existed. I said in a husky voice, tears streaming down my face and onto Grant's shirt.

- Dad, you can't blame yourself for this. You can't. You didn't know about me. No one told you. You didn't abandon me. You didn't give me up for adoption. You couldn't have done anything.

I was crying again, covering my mouth so that I don't make ugly weeping sounds.

- It doesn't change how I feel. My heart breaks every time I think about you growing up without parents, without me. I could have been there for you, if only I had known. And hell, I wish somebody would have fucking told me!

His voice became louder with every sentence and Grant hurried to calm him down before anyone heard him.

- Keep your voice down, remember where we are. We can have this talk on the bus.

Dad tried to collect himself and took my hand in his, kissing my knuckles.

- My girl, I love you so much. You know that?

He got up and pulled me into a hug. I put my arms around his neck and said, smiling:

- I do. I love you too, Daddy.

He left then to check on the bus, fearing someone might walk in on our scene of family bonding. He was still suspicious about SHIELD and decided not to let them know he knew they'd been keeping the truth from him.

I didn't know what to think about that organization and its secrets. Sometimes they were for the best and sometimes for the worst. And unfortunately in our case, I was damn sure it was for the worst. Basically, what they've done is mess up my life. But on the other hand though, that was how I became who I am now and met Grant and the team. So whatever happened and whoever was to blame, I couldn't help thinking that it was fate. You can't change your destiny. It all brought me to the only thing that matters, my family, no matter how dysfunctional it is. I love every one of them and they love me back. Isn't it what I've always wanted? Of course, it is.

I looked into the eyes of the man I love and was reminded once more of the love we shared as I felt it in every part of my body and soul. I reached out my hand to touch his beautiful face, to feel him just to make sure I wasn't dreaming all of this.

He asked me in a gentle voice that he only used when speaking to me:

- Are you okay?

I gave him a reassuring smile and said:

- I will be. I have you. I have my father. Damn, I even have those super smart siblings and the auntie.

That made us both chuckle.

- So I will be fine. Don't worry about me.

- You gave me quite a scare, you know.

- I'm sorry I made you worry. I hate it when you worry about me.

- I know that but I'm the man who loves you. You better get used to your boyfriend S.O. protecting you from every possible danger and telling you off for all the stupid things you like doing so much. I will always worry and I will always want to protect you.

- All the stupid things I like doing? Seriously, Ward? Is that what you think of your girlfriend Rookie?

I saw a smile spreading on his face as he said:

- I think that she can be a handful but it doesn't change the fact that I love her to bits.

I wanted to say a lot of things about how annoying he could get and was collecting my thoughts. I opened my mouth to speak but was stopped from speaking with his mouth crashing into mine. I moaned and reacted to the kiss, deepening it and grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him closer to myself. Then when I was out of air, I slapped him on the back of his head before pulling away.

- Ouch! What was that for?

He asked, rubbing the back of his head. Did the robot feel the pain? I must have hit him harder than I thought. Well, who taught me that? I answered his question:

- For calling me annoying! And for shutting me up before I had a chance to speak about your own annoying ass!

- Did I call you annoying? I don't remember that. And oh your face was so cute when you were deep in thoughts that I just couldn't help it.

- Yes. You said I do stupid things and I am a handful! And it's pretty much the same!

- Baby, please, chill! You are stubborn as hell but I never called you annoying. Besides, I thought the main point was that I love you to bits.

- You just keep making fun of me.

I said sounding offended, making a pouty face and looking down, doing everything to make him feel sorry for what he'd said.

- Oh God, are you really doing this again?

He said and lifted my chin up, and I looked at him with the best pouty face I could manage.

- You know all too well I wasn't making fun of you. I know exactly what you did here, miss.

He sighed and started putting soft gentle kisses on my face. I closed my eyes and smiled in satisfaction, enjoying each kiss.

- You are going to pay for putting on this show, Rookie.

Grant warned me as he was moving down to my neck, my smile disappearing for a while but then coming back because I'd be damned not to enjoy that bliss. Moreover, what could he possibly do to me? I wasn't afraid of my own boyfriend, ha!

- You're gonna just keep silent then, princess?

Yup. And let you do all the work.

- Okay then.

I was brought back to the real world squealing as the jerk started tickling me out of a sudden. I screamed and tried to break away but he held me so tight I had no chance of escaping. I had to shut up though when I remembered we were still in the hub, and well, making out and screaming in the hub isn't an appropriate thing to do.

- Please, please, please, stooooop.

I only kept saying 'please' until it annoyed him and he had to stop, not letting me go though.

- You little smartass, you just know the effect you have on me and use it when you want to.

- No. Only when I need it. It's not that it does you any harm. Aren't you happy when I'm happy?

His face got serious and he cupped my face, locking his eyes with mine.

- I am. And I promise to make you happy.

I laughed.

- What's funny? You don't believe me?

- I do. But you've already made me happy. You don't need to promise me that. I know I'll always be happy with you. I love you more than life.

Saying that, I put both my hands on his face and kissed him slowly but with passion, feeling every nerve in my body react to our kiss, to our touch, to our love.

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**Sorry if it was too cheesy but with Skyeward I just can't help it! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry it took so long to update! but I hope you guys enjoyed my Christmas one-shot! I just couldn't resist writing it!**

**So here, read and enjoy! **

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**Chapter 20**

I was only happy to return home to the bus after spending the whole day in the hub, pretty tired of boring faces of SHIELD agents in dark suits and indifferent expressions on their faces. It was weird to call a plane my home, but it was my true home, the place where I belonged and where my family was.

Everyone else was just as happy to be home as I was. Fitzsimmons went straight to their lab, running inside just like little kids on a sugar rush. May went to the cockpit to start the plane, my father retreated to his office but then I saw him go to the cockpit. 'There must be something going on between these two. I haven't been paying much attention lately but there has to be something' I thought.

Me and Ward were so tired we just headed to our bunk to crash on our bed and cuddle, like my father says. But as we got to the bunks something was definitely off.

There was just one door on that side. We stopped in out tracks.

After a moment of silence, I asked him tentatively:

- Do you see what I see?

- Oh. Do you mean this door? ONE door? Where's our bunk?

I looked up at his confused face and said:

- There is just one way to check.

I said it and went to the door. I opened it and gasped. Grant was behind my back in an instant.

- Oh. My. God.

That was our bunk! Except that it was twice its size and with a bigger bed, perfect for two. So Dad didn't forget!

I turned around to look at him with my mouth open and smiled happily.

- This is our bunk! Oh my god, I can't believe we finally have a proper bed!

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and said:

- Finally. Want to check it out, Rookie?

Then he scooped me up and carried me to our new bed (a few steps but whatever).

- Remind me to thank your father.

Without a moment's hesitation, he brought his lips to mine and kissed me senseless, making me forget all the crap that I'd got to know today. We quickly got rid of the unnecessary clothing and got to our hot make-out session. The last thought that came through my mind was "I only hope he'd locked the door", because God knows when Fitzsimmons notice the new bunk arrangement, they sure are going to check everything.

His hands roaming over my body, his lips on my skin, his smell, all these things that made my head spin and my body tingle pleasantly, everything he did, was making me feel so wanted and loved that I thought I'd die from happiness. If that wasn't heaven, then I didn't know what WAS. He was making me feel so drunk. Never did I think that I could ever fall so madly in love, but he changed everything I believed in.

I was only 21 years old but I already knew that I'd found the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, no matter what happened. He was the one I needed more than air. It was scary, really, to need someone that much, after spending the most part of my life not needing and not having anyone.

We lay in our new wide bed in complete silence. I was putting soft kisses on his shoulder while he was stroking my hair soothingly. It became his habit, really, to stroke my hair, his hands would just subconsciously move to my hair to stroke it, and I loved the feeling of that, his hands in my hair, he was always so gentle. He was always gentle with me, while being so strong, manly and well, firm, that no one would ever say just by looking at him that he could be such a big softie. Anyway, he was a big softie only with me, and this made me really happy because it was me who did that to him. I was proud with myself for that, I melted his heart and made him mine. And turned him into a big softie.

- Are you gonna tell me why you are smiling like an idiot?

He spoke to me in a curious but yet soft voice. I looked at him and bit my lip, my expression unchanged. He nudged me with his elbow.

- Com'on, Rookie, spill it out.

- I was just thinking…

I started telling him but stopped, pretending to be deep in thought, wanting to tease him a bit. Teasing him was my guilty pleasure. I heard him groan, he did that every time I was giving him a hard time.

- Skye…

- Yes?

- Do tell me, please.

- Oh. I was just thinking… about… you… and what a big softie you've become.

I smiled at him cunningly and moved to sit on top of him, kissing him on the cheek.

- What? Do I look like a softie to you?

He said, sounding slightly offended, but I knew he only feigned offence.

- Well… let's see. You are one big softie with me.

I looked at him, smiling widely and stroking his cheek. He took my hand and kissed my palm.

- Because I love you. I don't see why I should be any different with the woman I love.

- Of course not. I just enjoy it so much. No one ever loved me before.

He sighed and thought 'God, how could she be so stupid as to think no one could love her?' Stubborn, stubborn Skye.

- Skye… I'm sure someone did.

I was sure no one did, but I wasn't going to argue with him now. I said in a hardly audible voice:

- But not the way you love me…

- No one is ever going to love you as much as I do, Skye. You belong with me. So no one could love you the way I do, ever.

- I know that and I wouldn't ever want anyone else, only you.

I said, my voice suddenly serious, and moved to lie on him and hugging him tightly, as if someone was going to take him away from me. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me just as tightly, and kissing me on the forehead.

- I love you, Skye, and I'll never stop loving you.

- I love you too, Grant.

We lay like that in piece and silence for a while, and I couldn't help thinking about something. Something I wanted to ask him so bad but never had the courage. Did he want kids? If he said, basically, that he'd love me forever, well I guess that means he was ready to spend the rest of his life with me, in spite of knowing all my flaws and my difficult personality… he was still willing to be with me. So did he ever think about having kids with me? Or maybe after the childhood he'd had he didn't want to have any kids. I didn't want to admit that but the thought scared me. That's why I was so afraid to ask.

- Grant?

I whispered and he whispered back, turning his face to look at me.

- Yes, baby?

- You remember my dream?

- THE dream? Your happy dream?

I whispered:

- Yeah.

- Of course.

I didn't say anything for a while, my heart beating fast, and he probably felt it against his chest because he asked me:

- Skye. Are you okay? Did you want to tell me something? You can tell me anything, remember?

- Yes. Yes. And yes.

- So?

I got so anxious I started biting the insides of my cheeks, and that didn't go unnoticed by Grant.

- Skye, you're making me worried. Talk, please.

I took a deep breath and asked him, my voice slightly trembling:

- Do you ever want to… have kids?

- Oh God.

I looked at him, my eyes wide and filled with fear. He continued:

- Is that what you got so anxious about?

I turned my head away but he forced me to look at him.

- Baby, don't be stupid. You don't ever need to worry about that. I want to have kids with you. I want a lot of them, but only with you. I want them to have your beautiful eyes, and your smile, and look like you and be like you, even if they'll be just as stubborn.

This brought tears to my eyes, which he kissed away. I smiled in relief and said:

- I want them to have your eyes. In my dream, she had your eyes…

- Hayley?

- Yes.

- Did she look like you?

I remembered the little girl and smiled:

- Yeah.

- You realize that we are so going to name our first kid Hayley?

He really surprised me with that question. I totally realized that.

- How do you always manage to read my thoughts?

- This time it wasn't like that. I just love the name and I thought that if you refused to call the child Hayley I would totally have to force you into doing it.

Saying that, he moved closer to kiss me and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, at the same time thinking that I had the same thought as him. When we pulled away, I said:

- You're lucky you won't need to do that. But are you sure you'd want to give that name to a baby boy?

- Oh. It would have to be a baby girl. That's gotta be an order from me.

- To me or to the kid?

I was trying really hard not to laugh. He chuckled and said:

- To both.

That was when we heard Fitzsimmons hollering in the hall.

- So they finally left their beloved lab.

We got up, putting some clothes on and got into the hallway to the excited scientist duo.

- Oh, Fitz, we now actually have a real bed!

Fitz was bouncing in front of her, her hands in his.

- Oh, Jemma, we finally lived to that moment!

Grant intervened into their happy moment.

- Say thank you to Skye here. She totally embarrassed herself asking Coulson for a new bed. Well, which got us actual beds and bigger living spaces.

Both of them looked at her with gratitude. Jemma, who had a huge smile on her face and looked as if she was nominated for a Nobel prize, said:

- Oh! Thank you Skye! I'd never have the courage to ask Coulson for anything of the kind, I'd be totally embarrassed. This is so amazing!

- No worries. I felt that me and Grant really needed a proper bed for two. I just kept getting bruises by hitting the wall…

- Oh, yes! Finally I can move freely! Thank you!

- You kissed with the wall too?

- All the time! So annoying, right?

Well, who would think Simmons had the same problem? Lookey how I managed to solve two problems at a time!

Several hours into the flight my father knocked on the door, saying:

- Skye, Ward, we've got a new mission. Briefing in five.

I made a sound of annoyance and covered my face with hands.

- Not again.

Grant removed the hands from my face and planted a kiss on my forehead.

- Com'on Rookie, get up.

When everyone gathered for the mission debrief, my Dad didn't waste time and started speaking, opening a map on the big screen:

- We're heading to New Mexico and will land in about an hour. There's been a suspiciously high outburst of magnetic activity in the woods. We need to find whatever is causing it. Get ready, we'll be there soon.

After a moment he added:

- Weird. But this is suspiciously familiar. I don't like this, I don't like this at all. Be careful, all of you. Especially you, Skye.

He pointed at me and gave me that I-am-warning-you look. I only rolled my eyes. I was always pretty careful and on the lookout for suspicious activity, well, at least I was always trying to do that.

This was followed by multiple 'Yes sir's as the team started getting ready for a new mission. I noticed that my father was not in the mood and seemed pretty troubled and I wondered if that was because of the new mission.

In an hour we were walking through the woods somewhere in New Mexico as Fitzsimmons were scanning the area for any magnetic activity. The device was giving some quiet noises which I guess meant that there was nothing out of ordinary there. So we proceeded farther and farther into the woods. Getting bored and annoyed, I asked:

- Is there any point in this mission? Cuz I don't see any.

My father replied:

- Skye, not every mission is about action and shooting.

- Well, I am certainly not asking for shooting but a little something to keep my eyes open wouldn't hurt.

- I see. Can't help you with anything right now. Sorry.

About one hour later, I have no idea how much exactly, I was lagging behind, already tired from hours of walking with no result. Besides, I was so bored I kept looking sideways, getting distracted by random things and thinking when we would head back to the bus, because apparently there was nothing there to explore. It was so obvious to me, I had no idea what we were still doing in those woods.

I regretted getting so distracted the minute I felt a hand over my mouth and a gun pointed to my head and the last thing I saw was the rest of the team about 5 meters ahead before then everything went black.

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**Ehm, yeah about that... major cliffhanger! oopseeey!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Here you go! I couldn't wait to post this chapter and since I haven't been updating much lately, I thought why in hell not update tonight? **

**Enjoy it!**

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**Chapter 21**

Ward looked back to see why Skye got so quiet only to see no one there. Just a few minutes ago he heard her behind his back. He stopped, feeling that wasn't promising anything good at all. He called her, hoping she would just jump out of the bushes or something.

- Skye! Skye!

She didn't reply and he was getting more and more worried as he called her name once and once again and received no answer. He started walking fast in the direction they came from, still calling her name and looking for her. His heart was beating fast and he was scared, really scared. Agent Grant Ward was scared. Because the most important person in his life, the reason he lived, just disappeared.

Everyone else stopped too, looked at him with worried faces and went after him. Coulson said in a firm voice:

- What is going on?

Ward, knowing that something bad happened to Skye, turned to the team and said:

- Skye is gone.

I woke up feeling awful: I had a killer of a headache and could hardly open my eyes. When I finally did, I realized I didn't know where I was. I looked around the empty room with bare walls. The only piece of furniture that was there seemed to be the cot I was lying on.

Where the hell was I? I lifted my head and struggled to sit. My head immediately started spinning and I moaned. What the fuck happened to me?

It took me about fifteen minutes to remember. We were in the woods and I was so stupid as to get distracted and forget about everything my Dad and my boyfriend had said to me. I got kidnapped right in front of their backs. I felt like so stupid. I said to myself:

- When will you stop being such an idiot?

I was sitting on the cot, waiting for my head to stop spinning and thinking of getting the hell out of there when I heard someone talking in the hall.

I stood up and moved to the door, not without difficulty. I pressed my ear to the door to listen to the conversation.

- What are we going to do with her, Jake?

- I don't know! Get her to answer our questions? Anyway, she'd be unconscious for a while. We still have time to figure it out.

Hearing that, I moved away from the door, without making any noise. That was enough for me. I needed to get the hell away from there and fast, before they knew I was already conscious. That was my only chance.

I looked around the room, looking for a possible way out. Looking up, I saw a small window and sighed in relief. It wasn't so hopeless. I only prayed to God that those men wouldn't come in to check if I was really still unconscious.

The window was too high for me to reach it. I looked at the bed, as it was the only possible thing to help me get to that window, and the window was probably my best chance at getting away. So I moved the bed as quietly as possible for it to stand just under the window.

I climbed on the bed and looked at the small window that was on the same level as my chest. Thank God there were no bars! But still it was small and I knew it would be extremely hard to get through it and not to hit my head on the ground. I opened it and thought that I'd be damned but I'd make it through that window.

It was only twenty minutes later that I managed to get from the bed and into the window. My head was throbbing and I was in sweat. I breathed the fresh air and closed my eyes for a second, fighting nausea, then squeezed my body through the narrow window. I pushed myself down, letting my feet stay on the window sill, holding me and preventing me from falling onto my head. So I was hanging from the window, head down and about to puke. I put my hands on the ground to steady myself, thanking God it was the ground floor, and let go of the window sill completely, my feet landing on the ground.

I was on the ground and out of that room. I was lying on my back and could hardly move, my whole body aching, feeling nauseous, my head spinning. With great difficulty, I got up and immediately threw up.

Feeling a tiny bit better, but only a tiny bit, I walked fast, not really knowing where I was going or even where I was, just wanting to get as far away from there as possible.

I put on my hood and kept my head down, fearing that my kidnappers would notice my absence soon and start looking for me.

As I was walking through almost empty streets, I wondered how much time had passed since my kidnapping, how worried Grant and Dad and the rest of them must be. I felt awful and started crying. It was me to blame for what had happened. Why was I so stupid? Now I had to figure a way to get back without getting myself killed.

I stopped at a bus stop and sat on the bench. I needed to know where I am and what day it was, which meant I had to get somewhere more civilized. I looked up to read the name of the bus stop and saw 'Towards city center' written under it. That would do. At least I was going to find out where I was.

Before a bus came, an elderly man came and sat beside me. He retrieved a newspaper and, I saw the date on the front page.

Shit. It's been 2 days. Two fucking days. I have been unconscious for two days, how is that even possible? What drug did they give me?

I started panicking, my breathing becoming labored. I was scared, not so much for myself. My family must have been going crazy. I was scared even to think about what they were going through and what they thought had happened to me.

I turned my attention to my breathing and started taking deep breathes to get it back to normal. I had no inhaler with me and needed to do everything to survive and get home. And speaking about home… how would I know where the bus was right now?

A bus came and I got inside. It seemed like ages before I reached my destination. The good thing was, the town turned out to be huge so it would be hard for my kidnappers to find me there.

I got off the bus and started walking down the street in search of a newsagent's, keeping my head down so that my face wouldn't be seen by street cameras. I didn't want my kidnappers to find me, as they sure as hell wouldn't be pleased with my escape, which was actually pretty easy. They must have very little experience with the entire kidnapping thing, otherwise I doubt I'd have escaped that easily. I was very lucky today to get out of there alive. Ward would be proud.

Jesus. Grant. He must be worried out of his mind. Just thinking about him, about my Dad and the others made my heart race. I wanted to go home so much, just to have him wrap his arms around me tightly and to feel his smell again… Just remembering him made me want to cry, but I couldn't draw anyone's attention to myself. And to think I was bored to death in that goddamned forest, complaining and asking for something to happen. I guess I got what I'd asked for. A few tears managed to escape and made their way down my cheeks. I just wiped them and told myself to suck it up. I got myself into this mess and I was going to get myself out of it.

I finally saw a newspaper stand and came closer to read the front pages of newspapers so as I could figure out what city I was in. The Phoenix New Times, the Phoenix Herald, the Arizona Republic. I was in Phoenix. And I couldn't wait to get out of there and go home. I just wished I knew where my home was right now.

I proceeded walking up the street. The sun was shining brightly and it was getting hot. I saw a park on the other side of the road and thought why not go there, at least there wouldn't be any cameras.

I found a bench in the shade and sat down, bringing my knees to my chest. I was sitting there, looking at the people passing by, at the kids playing on the playground, and thought "How the hell do I get home?" I couldn't even let S.H.I.E.L.D. know my location, because the kidnappers were probably on the lookout for stuff like that. But even if they weren't, I couldn't risk it anyway. I was too scared.

I needed a phone or a computer to find the location of the bus, but of course my kidnappers had taken my phone. Those jerks, now I will have to get a new one when I get back home.

So how do I find something to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. and get the location of the bus? Maybe I should just head to LA, as I surely couldn't go to New York, too far away.

Public library! There is a public library across the road from the park. I'll just have to pretend to be a local who forgot their id-card or just to sneak in unnoticed. I liked the second variant better. Also I have to be careful not to show my face to the cameras inside.

It's been two long days since Skye went missing and Ward has been going crazy. These days have been the longest days of his life. Nothing compared to this, when the person you love the most is taken away from you. His worst fear, worst pain imaginable. He was afraid to even imagine what she must be going through right now, or if, God forbid, she was dead, and all because he had failed to keep her safe. He was the one to blame. He had to have his eyes on her all that time, or better to cuff her to himself like he'd promised her to do. He failed his most important mission. He could never live with himself if she died. Never. The thought of losing her forever was unbearable. They couldn't find her no matter how hard they tried, and with every minute, every hour that passed since her kidnapping he was getting more and more desperate. All he wanted was to have her back and to hold her as close as physically possible and never let go. She was his girl. Whoever took her from him was going to pay for that. He was going to make sure their life would turn into hell, or even worse, if that was possible. Killing that person wouldn't be enough, but having them suffer for the rest of their miserable life would.

Coulson could see that Grant was blaming himself. He even apologized to him for failing to protect his daughter. Coulson didn't blame him and told him not to blame himself but to focus on getting her back. Coulson thought he was the one to blame. He had a bad feeling about that mission all along. He even warned the team and his daughter personally. He should have been watching her but he got too involved in looking for something that wasn't there in the first place. Because all of it was a set-up to kidnap her. God knows who took his daughter, and he let them take her. What kind of a father was he? He just kept failing her over and over again. He was an awful father, he thought. If something happened to his little girl, he would never ever forgive himself.

They've been searching for her non-stop, and they seemed to have almost found her, almost. Back in the woods, they called for back-up and searched for her in the woods, but all they found was the place where she'd been taken.

After about two days of searching, day and night, Simmons found a possible place where she could be kept, in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. They were confident she was held there. They went to Phoenix, stormed the facility, and detained a group of criminals, but Skye wasn't there. Grant ended up almost beating the four of them to death, demanding information but they claimed they had no idea what he was talking about.

They returned to LA and handed over the beat-up criminals to S.H.I.E.L.D. for further questioning. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looked at the convicted in shock, but didn't say a word.

Since that lead they haven't got any closer to finding Skye. It was day three now and it started taking its toll on the team. All of them needed sleep, and they slept in turns, but Ward was unable to close his eyes without getting another nightmare. He hardly got any sleep those days and lived on coffee. He would be damned if he didn't find her. Deep inside he knew she wasn't dead. She was a fighter. So he had to fight too in order to save her and that was what he was going to do. Find her and get her back. And cuff her to himself.

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**Sooooooo what do you think? **

**PS: please don't hate me, I promise to update soon :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Here's the next chapter for you, guys! Thank you for reading and reviewing! It means so much to me! you are the best!**

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**Chapter 22**

I managed to get into the library alright, but had trouble finding a room with computers. One of the librarians asked me if I was alright and I almost panicked but put up a smile and said that everything was just fine, after all I was used to saying that, to lying. I wanted to ask someone where the computer lab was, but was too scared that someone might remember my face. Avoiding cameras was very hard too, so by the time I found computers I was stressed out and sweating. I sat at the desk in the far corner and switched on the computer.

I looked around the room and behind my back, then made sure that I wasn't seen in the camera that was monitoring the room, several times. Then I started hacking S.H.I.E.L.D. level 7, making sure it wouldn't be noticed and traced to my location.

The only thing I needed to know was the location of my team. I had to admit that S.H.I.E.L.D. had improved their protection because I spent a little bit more time hacking them than usual. I couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with my kidnapping.

As soon as I saw that the bus was in the hangar in downtown LA, I made a sigh of relief. I had to get there soon, the sooner the better. I missed my family and wanted to go home.

I hurried to leave the library but before I left, I stole a city map. I was feeling bad about stealing but I really needed to get to the nearest coach station. Taking a coach was the safest option for me to be unnoticed if the bad guys were still looking for me. There were too much cameras at train stations.

I got outside and crossed the street to the park. I took the same bench and opened the map. I didn't want to admit it, but I was feeling dizzy, my headache getting worse. It was so hot I just had to take my sweatshirt off, as I was in sweat. As soon as I got it off my body and felt the wind blow, which chilled my body a bit, I took the map back into my hands. I held it in my trembling hands, searching for a coach station, but had a trouble finding any, as I was exhausted and weak. I heard Grant's voice in my head "Com'on Skye, concentrate" and thought about going home, and that helped me find it. Only I had to take a train to get there.

By the time I got to the coach station, it was already dark, which was an advantage for me, because now people definitely couldn't see my face and it wasn't so hot, so I felt relieved.

But on the other hand, I've been gone for almost three days now and was worried about my family. S.H.I.E.L.D. have worked to strengthen their security system, which would mean that my kidnapping must have been well-planned if that caused them to improve their security. I also wondered how come the super organization still hadn't found me, although I knew that I'd been careful too to be unnoticed, and if S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't able to find me, I hoped that the bad guys weren't either.

I was thinking about Grant all the time and wondered how he must be feeling. I imagined myself in his place. I would have crumbled to pieces if he were kidnapped and taken from me for so long. My heart ached because it was me who was making him suffer. All because of how stupid I was. Stupid enough to get distracted and not to look around.

To say nothing of my Dad, who had actually warned me to be careful and watch my back. He was worried about that mission and he was right. It wasn't a mission, at least not ours. Someone wanted me. But why?

Putting my sweatshirt and the hood back on, I entered the building and headed straight to the ticket machines. I couldn't risk being caught in the cameras that were recording every customer at the ticket office.

- Shit!

I said out loud when I realized there were no buses till morning. I was going to have to spend much more time there than I'd thought. I had no other choice than to buy a ticket for the first bus on the next day, thank God I had enough cash in my back pocket. I would be in LA by 1 pm and if I was lucky enough, I'd be home by 3. I've never missed the bus so much.

I bought the ticket and went to buy some food and water. I realized I hadn't eaten since I was kidnapped and perhaps that's why I was feeling so weak and dizzy. Although, scratch that, that was exactly why.

I bought myself two chicken and bacon baguettes and a bottle of water and took a seat as far away from people as possible. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took a bite of that baguette. I've been starving but because of all the stress I didn't even realize it. I still couldn't believe what had happened. I was kidnapped and managed to flee. I did it. I saved myself. I survived. But it wasn't over just yet. I had a long way home ahead of me, and a long night at the station.

Coulson was in his office drinking whisky when May walked in. She looked at him with disapproval and said firmly:

- Drinking is not the solution, Phil.

He looked at her with a sad look in his eyes, then looked back down, cradling a glass of whisky in his hand.

- It's been more than three days, May. It's too much time. My daughter might be dead for all I know.

May got angry and out of a sudden took the glass from his hand and threw it into the nearest wall, then repeated in the same firm voice:

- I said drinking in not the solution. Pull yourself together. She is not dead, you hear me?

- I'm not so sure now.

He filled another glass with whisky, but it ended up being thrown into the wall too.

- You should be looking for her, not giving up on your only child. She needs you like never before. Stand up, damn it, and go find her!

Coulson, shocked at May's unusual behavior, obeyed and went back to the team, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was really going to see his daughter again.

I stayed in the waiting area all night, in the uncomfortable seat but I managed to sleep through most of the night, exhaustion taking over.

I dreamed that my team found me. It felt so real I actually thought it was reality. I saw Grant and just as he was about to pull me in his arms, I opened my eyes only to see that I was still in the waiting area of the coach station.

I was so disappointed that I could hardly keep away the tears that were threatening to come. I knew if I started crying I would never stop. So I told myself to hold it together for just a little bit, got up and went to my gate. In an hour I would be on my way home.

When the bus came I hurried to get inside and took a seat by the window at the end of the bus. I couldn't wait to get out of this place. I would never ever go to Arizona by my own will. I was so done with that place.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, thinking about home and my family. About Grant, about my father, my geeky brother and sister and auntie Mel. Just thinking about them brought a smile to my face.

But then I remembered what I made them come through and felt awful about that. What Grant and my father were going to tell me? Blame me for not listening to any of them for probably a million's time? To scream at me, be mad at me for being impossibly stupid? Probably all of that. I knew I deserved all of it. I deserved Grant to shout at me and tell me how stupid I was, that I wasn't thinking at all, that I was never thinking about consequences. That all I did was talk…

My Dad would probably say that I almost got myself killed one more time and look at me with that look of disappointment and condemnation.

And I deserved all of that. It was a fair price for getting out of there alive and without a scratch.

When the bus finally left for Los Angeles, I allowed myself to close my eyes and get some more sleep. There was nothing else to do than to emotionally exhaust myself anyway.

When I opened my eyes it was already in LA. I was home, well, almost, very very close to home. I hoped that the bus hadn't left the hangar and was still there, because that would mean I would have to wait to see Grant and the rest of the family. God knows I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me in his arms again, to feel his warmth, his heartbeat, his smell, his hands on my body.

I got off the bus and when the realization that I was almost at home hit me, I started laughing hysterically, as I couldn't allow myself to cry, not quite yet. Some people were staring at me but I didn't care then.

I took a train, then a bus and then walked about a mile to the hangar. I almost forgot how it was not to have a car, well, in my case, a van. Public transport was exhausting, especially when you were exhausted already.

I almost cried when I finally saw the hangar. I practically ran inside and saw the bus that was really still there. A few tears ran down my cheeks. I made it, I really did. I came back home.

I made my way to the bus and walked up the opened ramp. I could see no one inside and, looking around, I slowly went up the stairs. I could hear voices and people arguing in the debriefing room. I approached it in slow motion and stood outside of it, listening to the conversation.

I heard Fitzsimmons talk in their usual way. The difference was, their voices sounded somehow different. They must be exhausted, I thought.

- There is absolutely nothing that would tell us anything on her location.

- It's as if she vanished.

- We've been keeping an eye on the cameras all over the country and running facial recognition, still nothing.

Then I heard Grant's voice. It was so full of worry and exhaustion that I felt guilty and sick.

- We have to find her until it's too late. DO something.

I could no longer hide behind that wall and stepped inside. They were so tired that no one actually noticed me until I spoke, my voice weak and trembling:

- Looking for me?

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**ooopsey, does it look like another cliffhanger? **

**don't worry, there soon will be an update!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Can't believe it's almost Christmas! how did it happen? sooo fast! so I really didn't want to keep you waiting and wonder what the team's reaction is...here you go, read and enjoy!**

**and Merry Marvel Christmas, guyyyyys! I love you!**

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**Chapter 23**

Each of them turned their heads to me, their faces thunderstruck, looking as if they didn't believe what they saw.

Jemma managed to utter "Oh my God, Skye" right when Grant took two steps and instantly took me in his arms, lifting me from the floor. In no time, I had my arms wrapped around his neck and, relieved and happy to be in his arms again, burst out crying, all the tears that I'd been keeping from coming broke away and were streaming down my face and onto his shirt. I kept saying 'I'm so sorry" as he stroked my hair and held me close, not saying a word. I could hear the rest of my family sigh in relief and thank God I was back.

Grant whispered into my ear:

- I thought I'd never get to see you again. I swear you scared all the crap out of me, Skye. Never ever do that again. You hear me?

It only made me cry harder. I didn't want to hurt him like that ever again.

He was holding me so tight against himself it was hard to breathe, but I didn't mind that at all. I was finally in his arms, I was home.

I held onto the collar of his shirt so tight that he had trouble untangling me from himself. He looked into my face, still in tears, and kissed me on the forehead, and I thought just how much I'd missed him doing that. Two fucking days of hell, four for the rest of them. But I survived and came back home, all by myself.

I saw my father's worried face and jumped at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on his shoulder, weeping.

- Thank God you're okay.

I let go of my Dad and moved to hug Fitzsimmons, who were both teary-eyed, Jemma on the verge of a breakdown and Fitz trying to be strong for her, and even May, who wrapped her arms tight around me and whispered "I knew you'd make it. You're a fighter, Skye" into my ear.

Grant put his hands on my shoulders, inspecting me from head to toes and asking me in a very concerned and at the same time firm voice:

- Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?

All I could do was shake my head and weep, my breathing now labored, as his hands roamed around my body checking me for injuries that I actually didn't have.

I noticed that I couldn't say a single word, as well as I wasn't able to stop crying. It went on and on. I tried to stop but I just couldn't.

- Are you sure they didn't hurt you? Skye?

I nodded a few times, proceeding to sob. He wrapped his arms around me, trying to soothe me a bit. My Dad asked me:

- What happened to you then?

When I didn't reply, well, I couldn't, Ward pleaded in a low voice:

- Please, stop crying, Skye. You're home now. You are safe, I'm with you.

When after fifteen more minutes Skye didn't stop sobbing no matter how they tried to calm her down, Grant began to get seriously worried. She couldn't stop crying. He did all he could, stroking her hair, her cheek, kissing her and holding her tighter, nothing worked. He could see she was extremely exhausted and crying was only taking the little energy she still had, but she had a problem with stopping and couldn't utter a single word.

As Grant held her protectively in his arms, Coulson said to Jemma in an annoyed and loud voice:

- Simmons! Sedate her!

Simmons obeyed and immediately went to get a needle and everything else she needed for sedating Skye.

Grant only looked at Coulson in doubt, holding his crying girl close to himself and asked her father, concern so evident in his voice:

- Is that really necessary?

- She's having a panic attack. She is not able to calm down on her own. So yes, it's necessary, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

Simmons came back with a needle and injected Skye with a sedative. After a while Ward felt her go limp in his arms and putting his hand under her knees, lifted her up. "Jesus, Skye, how much weight did you manage to lose in four days?" he thought as he realized how much lighter she's become.

Simmons told him:

- Put her on the examination table. I need to have a check on her. She doesn't seem to have any injuries but she's not looking good.

He slowly and carefully put her down on the table, and put his hand on her cheek, saying:

- What happened to you, Skye?

Simmons heard him and said, starting to check on the pale and ill-looking girl lying on her table:

- She's probably been drugged. Seeing her current condition, I can see some of the effects are still wearing off. She must have had a killer of a headache, poor girl.

She continued to inspect her patient carefully. Coulson, who's been keeping calm and thinking, finally spoke:

- Drugs? They drugged her? I'm going to kill the fucking assholes who'd done that to her.

Ward replied to that, surprised at the older man's swearing:

- No. Killing would be too easy. We gotta make them suffer, go through real pain.

Simmons had to put Skye on I.V., saying that she was awfully dehydrated, and Grant frowned as she inserted it into her arm. He hated to see her like this, so pale and weak and with an I.V. needle in her arm.

Though he couldn't help feeling relieved, grateful that she was alive, safe and sound, and he could see her again, touch her again, show her how much he loved her and how much he needed her.

Finally Simmons took a blood test and then said:

- You can take her to your bunk now. All she needs now is a lot of rest.

Simmons held the I.V. bag as Ward lifted her small form from the exam table. She put the I.V. bag on top of the sleeping Skye, making sure it wouldn't fall down and said to Ward:

- Here, be careful with that I.V. bag. And Grant? She is going to be fine. She was extremely lucky to come home safe.

- I know. Thank you, Jem.

- You're welcome. Watch that girl, because we both know she is stubborn as hell.

He carried Skye into their bunk, put her on their bed with great care and lay down next to her, hanging the I.V. bag on the head of the bed and putting the cover over them.

Putting his right hand over her waist and his face right next to hers, taking in her smell and then kissing her on the side of her head, he finally sighed in relief and allowed himself to close his eyes. The first time since her kidnapping that he could actually get some sleep.

When he opened his eyes, he saw her still sleeping peacefully beside him. He was happy to see the color back on her face. He touched her cheek with the back of his head and kissed her forehead lightly, not wanting to wake her up. She needed as much sleep as she could get.

He watched her sleep, not able to get enough of her, seeing her beautiful face again. In the four long days she's been gone he went through hell and back. Worst days of his life, by no means. There was that frightening moment when he thought she was dead and he lost her forever but he quickly put that thought aside, telling himself he was going to see her again and believing that she would survive and come back home.

She did and she made him so proud. She did something he as well as the rest of the team had failed to do. She fought for her life and saved herself.

A light knocking on the door brought him back from his thoughts. The door slowly opened and he saw Jemma walk inside. She whispered, careful not to wake up Skye:

- Good morning. I came to check on your Rookie and change the I.V. bag.

- Morning. Of course. Is she going to need that thing for much longer?

- Not for much, but she still needs it. She must have been through a lot. Poor girl.

They both looked at the girl sleeping in his arms. She looked much better since yesterday but there still were dark circles around her eyes and she still looked weak, a bit pale and worn out.

Jemma performed a quick check on her and while she did that, Grant wondered what had happened to his girl in those four days. They still had to find it out when she woke up.

Ward thought about everything Jemma did for Skye, not just this time, and felt he should thank her, and although it wouldn't be enough, she had to know he was grateful.

- Thank you, Jemma.

The scientist looked at him confusingly, then went back to changing Skye's I.V. bag.

- For what?

- For taking care of Skye. For everything you do for her, not just this time.

She smiled, throwing a look at Skye and then looked him in the eyes.

- You don't need to thank me. She is my family, as well as every person on this bus. I'd do anything for my family. I only wish I could do more, sometimes I feel useless.

- I know the feeling.

They fell into a comfortable silence, looking at the sleeping girl and thanking God she was breathing, relatively healthy and back home.

After a while they heard someone at the door. Jemma turned her head and saw the worried face of the girl's father. Coulson looked at his sleeping daughter and asked in a low voice:

- How is she?

Grant looked at Coulson, who didn't look good, probably couldn't sleep all night after seeing his child in such a condition, and said:

- Getting back to normal.

Jemma added, wanting to make him feel better:

- She is going to be just fine, sir. Your daughter is a fighter. And you should go and have some more sleep. You don't look good. You wouldn't want Skye to see you like this and get worried.

He walked to the bed and kissed Skye on the forehead, then turned back to leave.

- Inform me when she wakes up. She has a lot of explaining to do.

Jemma followed Coulson, saying she and Fitz had some work to do at the lab, and Grant was left alone with Skye again.

After an hour or so she finally opened her eyes and Grant, happy to see her beautiful brown eyes again, Grant smiled and couldn't help but reach his hand and put it on her cheek.

- Finally. Good morning, baby.

I looked at his smiling face and closed my eyes when he touched my cheek, simply enjoying the feeling of his touch. I asked, my voice groggy:

- How did I get here? I don't remember…

- Here into the bed or on the bus?

- Bed.

- I carried you here from the lab. You wouldn't stop crying and Jemma had to sedate you. That's why you don't remember. Sorry.

- Don't worry. I really couldn't stop.

We lay in silence for a while, his hand over my body, holding me close, and I just wanted to take a moment to enjoy and appreciate the feeling of being close to him again. A tear made its way down my cheek and I whispered:

- I missed you so much. I couldn't wait to see you again… and to touch you and for you to kiss me…

He pressed his forehead against mine, kissing every spot on my face and saying:

- God, Skye, I missed you like hell. I was so scared I'd never get to see you again. I love you. So much. I don't ever want to spend a single day without you.

More tears ran down my face and I was slowly starting to weep. I started talking, my voice faltering:

- I am so sorry I made you go through that. It's all because of me. I'm the one to blame. I was so stupid…

Grant couldn't bear seeing her crying and blaming herself for what had happened. He failed to protect her and she was blaming herself. His heart clenched in his chest.

- Skye, Skye, stop it. You can't blame yourself for getting kidnapped. It's all because of me. I should have protected you. I should have watched you.

That only brought more tears from her eyes.

- Noooooo. I got distracted. I wasn't careful. You and Dad told me to be careful but I didn't listen…

He couldn't bear the crying. She's been crying too much. Since yesterday. It was unbearable. He couldn't watch her cry, it was too painful.

- Shhhh. Baby, please calm down. Don't cry, please.

Then she looked at her arm with the I.V. and freaked out.

- Grant… is there a… needle in my arm?

I saw that needle and gasped. I hated needles. I hated having injections. But when you had an injection, it was fast enough. That was another thing. The needle just stayed in my arm. I was scared to move.

- Jemma had to put you on I.V. You are dehydrated.

He looked at me with that worried expression, his hand on my cheek, and just looking at his face made my heart race. But the needle was still bothering me. I begged him, tears in my eyes:

- Grant… Please remove the needle. Please?

- Baby… I think it's too early…

- Please, Grant! I can't even look at it. Or move. I hate needles. I'm scared.

She was freaking out, looking into his eyes with that hurt look, and tears were streaming down her beautiful face. Grant could bear it no longer and just wanted to calm her down. He didn't want her to stress herself even more.

- Okay, okay. Just calm down, I'll go find Simmons. Okay?

I nodded and he got out of bed, kissing me on the forehead.

Jemma came and Grant convinced her to remove the I.V. but not without getting me to agree to drink a lot and to eat and Grant to watch me and make sure I eat and drink enough. Grant was, of course, all for it, I knew that was exactly what he was going to do without even being asked. When she finally took out the freaking needle I felt free and relieved. I could move again.

As soon as she left and Grant closed the door, I gathered all my strength, got up and moved to the bed's edge, then jumped at him wrapping myself around his body, my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, and holding on tight. He was clearly taken by surprise, but then wrapped his arms around me too, stroking my back soothingly, and kissed my hair.

- I love you, Skye.

I kissed his neck softly and, burying my face in the crook of his neck, mumbled:

- I love you too.

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**How did you like the reunion? sweet enough? well, I thought that after everything Skye's been through she was bound to have a breakdown but her family are going to help her get past what had happened to her!**

**Have a wonderful Christmas, peeps!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Here you go, guys. This one turned out to be pretty long, I hope you enjoy it:)**

**I don't really know if I'm going to update soon, but I am going to do my best. I am also going to post a New Year one-shot somewhere before New Year though. But in January I'm having exams -_- and I need to start getting ready, so that's why my updates will probably be slower.**

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**Chapter 24**

When the family made sure I had eaten and drunk enough (they were watching me so carefully it was actually pretty creepy), they demanded explanations of what had happened to me and where I had been and how got home, which was a perfectly normal thing to ask. But it made me remember that awful time and I hesitated to speak, looking down and hiding my face from them behind my hair.

Grant kneeled in front of me, took my hands in his and kissed each palm, then said in a low soothing voice:

- Skye? Please tell us what happened.

I squeezed his hands tight, not even realizing it. He asked in a worried voice:

- You said they hadn't hurt you. Is that true?

I quickly nodded and said:

- They didn't get to even touch me. I got out of there before they could do anything to me.

Grant raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed, which made me smile a bit, and everyone else looked at me with surprised expressions on their faces. My father said:

- Keep talking. Where was that?

I sighed, remembering the place I didn't like a little bit.

- Phoenix, somewhere downtown, I think.

I saw Grant frown and look up.

- What?

My father came closer, sat down and said:

- After a few days or so, managed to get your possible location and went there. We stormed a facility in downtown Phoenix but we didn't find you there.

- Oh God. I must have fled by that time. But did you catch these guys?

Ward's expression changed and he said in a firm voice, his fists clenching:

- Yes. We interrogated them but no one admitted to even knowing you. I knew those fucking jerks were lying.

Everyone noticed how angry he got. I got worried about his emotional state, and put my hand on his cheek. Jemma hurried to explain, her face full of concern:

- Ward was the one to interrogate them. He ended up almost beating them to death. We had to pull him out of interrogation room by force.

- Now we can get all of them back for interrogation and who knows maybe I'll get to finish them off…

I looked worriedly at Grant and took his hand in mine.

- No. Of course not. You're not like them.

My Dad added:

- Well, I thought you were the one to tell me not to kill them but make them suffer…

- Well, now I think, why not kill one of them and make the rest of them suffer… There is more than one of them after all.

That got me more worried about Grant. He was getting more and more furious, and I didn't like to see that side of him.

After Grant calmed down a bit, my Dad asked me another question:

- What have you been doing all these days after you got away?

- Oh. It was just a little bit more than one day. It took some time to get from Arizona to California, you know. I took a coach.

Grant looked at me with worry and confusion.

- What do you mean a little over a day? Skye, you've been gone for almost four days.

- Yes… I've been unconscious for two days. I don't know how they could drag me to keep me out of consciousness for so…

- Two days? You… How much did they drug you?

He got up and started pacing around the living area. I could see all the hurt on his face and my heart ached for him. I hated to see him like that. Simmons said:

- That explains why the amount of drugs in her system was so high. Skye, are you sure you're feeling fine? You got a way too high dose of drugs, for your body it's…

- Yes, I haven't felt that good in days. Thank you, Jemma.

I looked worriedly at my boyfriend who was hardly holding it together, his fists clenched, lips in a line and a very angry expression on his face. Everybody else noticed that too but didn't say anything, only threw concerned looks at him.

My father said before heading out to his office:

- I'm going to call the Hub and ask for our suspects back. Skye, would you be able to identify them? Any of them?

- Yes. I heard two of them talking in the hallway. One of them was called Jake.

Grant suddenly stopped pacing and said in a determined voice:

- One of them was really Jacob. I swear I'm going to kill one of them.

He was in a fit of rage and his voice sounded so different, and I have never seen him in such a state and that got me worried. I got up and made my way to him, putting my hands on his face.

- Grant, NO. Look at me. You need to hold it together. Please, will you do it for me?

He put his hands on my wrists and looked me in the eyes, calming down a bit but I still could see how angry he was. He said slowly but with determination:

- They kidnapped you. Took you away from me. I want to hurt them too.

Seeing his resolute expression and the hurt on his face, which was unbearable, I whispered to him:

- You can hurt them, Grant, without killing them. You can hurt them as much as you want, but not kill.

These words seemed to make him feel better and he wrapped his arms around me protectively, one of his hands on the back of my head and the other over my waist, pinning me to him. I held on to him tightly, my arms around his waist, my head on his chest, not ever wanting to be separated from him again.

After a while of standing like that in the now empty living area, he whispered:

- Baby, you need more rest. You're still weak.

I had to agree with him, I was already feeling tired and wanted to lie down with Grant and get him to hold me. I looked up at him, not failing to give him my pouty face.

- Will you lie with me?

- Of course I will.

He gave me a passionate kiss on the lips, first time since I came back, and I deepened it, not wanting it to end. Feeling all the electricity of our kiss and the familiar tingling in my stomach again, I felt happy and drew him closer to myself, burying my hands in his hair. We had to pull away as I wasn't getting enough oxygen and was feeling dizzy, but of course, didn't want Grant to know and worry about me even more. But as soon as he loosened his grasp on me a little, I almost slid to the floor, but he reacted just in time and lifted me up, scooping me into his hands, pressing me to his chest.

- You really need some beauty sleep, princess.

He kissed me on the tip of my nose before heading to our bunk with me in his arms.

He watched Skye fall asleep, lightly stroking her hair, which he admitted was a habit of his now. He looked at her left arm and leg wrapped over his body as if someone was going to take him away from her and couldn't help but chuckle. Skye was so adorable and so sweet. So how could she ever deserve to get kidnapped?

He thought he wouldn't be getting any sleep as he'd slept through the night, for the first time that week. He took Catching Fire and continued reading, not noticing his eyes slowly closing as he fell asleep with the book on his chest, as well as his girl wrapped around him.

When he woke up the first thing he saw was Skye's hair very very close to his face, and he could feel her familiar smell of cherries or something. He smiled, because he was reminded again that she was there with him and nothing and no one was going to take her away from him again. He learnt his lesson.

She stirred and got herself closer to him, her eyes still closed. He kissed her on the top of her head and she opened her eyes. He said:

- Evening, sunshine.

- Evening, my prince on the white horse.

- What made you think that?

- A lot of things. You are my prince Charming.

This earned me a kiss as he brought his lips to mine and kissed me hungrily. I felt desire arouse within me. I climbed on top of him and started pulling up his T-shirt, quickly getting rid of it and tossing it on the floor. He stopped kissing me, and I felt cold and disappointed.

- Hey, hey. Isn't it too much for now? Skye…

- Grant, please. I really need you to make love to me. Right. Now.

I looked him in the eyes with that pleading look of mine that would make a puppy cry.

- Grant, please…

It made him groan in frustration. I knew he wanted it too, he just thought I was still too weak and wanted to do what was best for me, but he was wrong.

In the end, my pouty face worked again and he surrendered, crushing his lips into mine again and pulling my pullover over my head. He turned me on my back, getting on top of me, and I giggled and wrapped my legs around his waist, earning another groan from him.

- I knew you could never resist me, Agent Ward.

Roaming his hands over my body, making me hot and cold at the same time, he said in a husky voice:

- You little tease, you're going to pay for this.

With these words, he claimed my lips again, making me moan from pleasure, and here our hot make-out session really began.

As we lay happily in silence relishing the minutes of piece, our bodies nearly glued to each other, there was a knock on the door, which made both of us groan in frustration.

I heard my Dad's voice behind the door and pulled the cover higher fearing that Grant hadn't locked the freaking door again and he would enter.

- Skye, Grant, I'm not going to open that door because I sure as hell don't want to see what the two of you are up to right this moment, but ehm, we're having a team meeting in five.

We both turned to look at each other's face and said at the same time:

- There's no piece on this bus!

We laughed and then said in unison again:

- We're getting like Fitzsimmons.

That got us into a fit of laughter, which turned into more passionate kissing, and we almost forgot about the damned team meeting.

When the team gathered in the debriefing room, my father spoke:

- Okay, team! Time to get serious. We've got the men who had kidnapped Skye on their way here. We don't need…ehm…

He looked pointedly at Grant, who immediately tensed up and got that hate look on his face.

- To beat them to death. We need to find out the reason they'd taken Skye. It doesn't matter HOW you do it and WHAT you do to get the information, all that matters is that you GET it. All clear?

He looked around the team members before saying 'Good' and walking out.

I looked at Grant with worry, his face looked very determined and full of rage and I was scared he was going to do some stupid things, which was usually something I did.

- Grant…

I called him to get his attention, as he was clearly somewhere else, probably thinking of killing some particular men.

- Grant!

- Yes?

- Please, please, don't do anything stupid. They didn't kill me and they didn't hurt me, I am here with you and I am safe and sound. Do you hear me?

He turned his head to look me in the eyes and with that look full of rage, he brought his face to my level and, looking me in the eyes, said:

- Oh you think they wouldn't hurt you, or torture you, or fucking KILL you if they got the chance? It's what they do, Skye. They are criminals, bastards who do not deserve to be treated nicely. They don't even deserve to be around normal people. They shouldn't be allowed to be around people at all because they are a danger to society. And I am not letting them do any more harm to you, or anyone. They deserve to struggle for the rest of their lives and that's what I am willing to help them do.

He was almost shaking from all the rage inside him. I looked at him with wide eyes and leaned back. I've never heard him say hateful things like that before and it wasn't like Grant Ward to do so.

I felt like crying again, so I decided to go somewhere desolated.

I left him with his hateful thoughts and went to that closet where Fitz had got himself locked in some time ago.

It was the right place to do some thinking. It was dark and silent there. I sat on the floor and put my chin on my knees.

I didn't want the team even to deal with these guys. They gave me the creeps, like the whole Phoenix, or I-got-kidnapped, incident. And that was also one of the reasons I was sitting in this closet alone. I didn't want to deal with that problem. I didn't really want to know why I had got kidnapped, I was too scared to know why. I also thought that when Grant and my Dad realize I was the one to blame for getting kidnapped, because I was stupid and stubborn, they are going to lock me somewhere or suspend me from missions or something even worse.

So there I was sitting in the closet and avoiding dealing with my problems like a child. Great job, Skye.

Grant realized he shouldn't have spoken to Skye like that. As soon as his rage subsided, he realized he had scared her and felt very bad about it.

He went to their bunk to apologize. He was sure that was where she'd gone to, but she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere she could be and he asked every team member if they'd seen her, but didn't get any answer that would help him find the stubborn girl. He was getting really worried. He'd hurt her and she was upset, which could make her do stupid things. Especially after her recent kidnapping, he didn't feel good when he couldn't find her anywhere. He felt fear and he felt helplessness, the things he'd always hated to feel.

In the closet, I lay down on the floor, as I got tired of sitting in that position, and thought why not lie down and relax, no one could see me.

I have no idea how much time I lay like that but I guess I must have fallen asleep in the end. I even had a dream. Grant was searching for me. He was asking each team member but they were only talking about some stupid unnecessary stuff with him, which got him angry. So he was just walking around the bus and screaming my name…

- Skye! Skye!

I opened my eyes to see Grant leaning over me. When did I fall asleep anyway?

- Yeah?

- Are you feeling unwell? I'm going to get you to Simmons.

I didn't manage to utter a word as he scooped me up and walked out of the closet. I finally awoke and tried to get out of his hold.

- Wait, wait, wait! I am feeling absolutely fine, I just lay down on the floor, that's it!

- What the hell are you saying? You came there to just lie on the floor?

He obviously thought I was lying so he wouldn't worry or something. Gosh, this is going to be hard…

- Grant! I came there and sat on the floor to think, but I got tired of sitting so I lay down! I've been there for so long that I fell asleep on the floor. Grant, now let me go.

- This is ridiculous. I've been looking for you everywhere. I almost freaked out, Skye, for God's sake, you just got kidnapped! You cannot just disappear like that!

- You've been mean to me and I needed some space to process the information.

Finally he put me down and looked me in the eyes, cupping my face.

- Baby, I am so sorry. I know I scared you. But I was scared too. I don't ever want you to get taken away from me, and I don't want anyone else to experience this kind of pain. So I am sorry I told you these things, but unfortunately, what I said is true. You were just so incredibly lucky not to get hurt. I feel relieved, seriously. But I often wonder what could have been, and it's making me feel angry and mad, and also scared.

- I'm sorry too.

He gave me a questionable look and I continued:

- For not being careful. I was like 5 meters or so behind all of you and I wasn't looking around or anything. I was bored. So they approached me from behind…

I felt tears running down my face, one by one.

- And the last thing I remember is your backs… and I couldn't even scream, as they'd covered my mouth. It's all my fault.

Ward looked at her face, full of tears, and thought that he would have a serious conversation with her about being careful and watch her back on missions, because right now it wasn't the time. She looked so hurt and fragile that he couldn't think of upsetting her even more.

I tried to wipe away the tears but there were too many of them coming and too fast. Grant kept silent for a while, then said:

- We are going to talk about your carelessness later. Right now I have some very important criminals to deal with.

He pulled me into a hug and held me to his chest, his shirt immediately getting wet from my wet face.

- I don't want to deal with them and I don't want you to speak to them too. Can May do it instead?

- Oh, no, baby. Me and these guys have some unfinished business to get to.

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**hehehe Ward and Coulson (and May?) are going to kick some ass! *evil face***


	25. Chapter 25

**Here, finally I am able to update! Sorry for making you wait, but I am currently getting ready for an exam in foreign literature and there's just so much shit to read ughh so it takes all of my time:(**

**but I promise the next update will be sooner:) so here, enjoy this chapter, guys! xxx**

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**Chapter 25**

When the men responsible for Skye's kidnapping were brought to the bus by S.H.I.E.L.D. officers, Grant rushed off to the interrogation room.

I followed him almost immediately, intending to watch the interrogation from the window but was stopped by my father who shoved me into the hall, saying that they would call me soon to identify one of them. So the only thing I was left to do was sit on the floor by the door or pace in the hallway.

I was annoyed and I was mad. I had a right to see what was going on there. I was an adult, for God's sake! But my boyfriend and my father were just way too overprotective.

Inside the interrogation room Ward and Coulson welcomed the leader of the small gang of criminals. Ward asked Coulson for a little bit of time with the bad guy, and Coulson agreed, but before he left he turned to the criminal and threw his fist right into his face, and Ward swore he could hear the guy's nose break. That was a bloody good blow.

When Skye's father left, it was just Ward and the guy. Before they would let Skye identify him, Grant wanted to have a conversation with him. Ward spoke in a calm but threatening voice:

- So, you're back. You lied right into my face the previous time. You're gonna regret it, you know?

Finishing the sentence, he pushed the chair the guy was sitting on so it flew forward and the guy, Jacob, ended up lying on his back on the floor.

Grant stayed in the same position, his face calm and determined.

- I want to make it clear. Today I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer, no. So there's no rules for me, you see? I am going to do what I want with you.

The man kept silent. Ward got up and walked to the spot where the man lay unmoving. He hit him in the stomach with his leg, getting a low moan from him, and put his chair in its original position.

- It's not gonna to be nice. And it's gonna be even less nice if you don't tell me what I want to know. Are we clear?

He waited for a reply, it didn't come so he pulled him by the hair and made his head hit the table, hard.

- I said: are we clear?

The criminal had no other choice and replied in an annoyed voice:

- Yes.

- Good. Now that we understood each other, I'll leave you on your own for a while.

With these words, he left the room, to find Skye so that she could identify the men.

I was sitting on the hallway floor when the door to the interrogation room opened and I saw Grant. I quickly got up and said:

- Can I go inside too? I want to see these guys…

- Skye, are you insane? I'm not letting you actually meet them. Come with me.

He led me into the room with a window to the interrogation. The rest of the team, even Fitzsimmons, were there. Grant said:

- Who wants to go talk to the bastard so that Skye can identify him by voice?

Unexpectedly, Jemma was the first to raise her hand. I looked at her with confusion and fear. This can't be good. I exclaimed:

- Jemma!

Everyone threw their concerned looks at the young scientist.

- Well, you asked. I want to speak to him. Maybe I'll be able to find out something important, approaching him in a manner different from yours…

All the men in the room shook their heads, Fitz protested:

- Jemma, no. No way in hell I am letting you go there on your own. I think he is violent, I mean from the way his face looks, it's just creepy. He kidnapped Skye and drugged her!

Coulson agreed with Fitz and said:

- Sorry, Simmons, but you're not going there. We are not here to take risks. I'll go.

My father left the room, and I watched him leave and then turned back to look at Jemma.

- Why would you want to speak to him?

She looked at me as if it was obvious.

- Because he kidnapped you and I want to know why. You are my family. I love you, and I hate him for what he had done. I want to know why.

Then I heard my father speak to the guy in the interrogation room and recognized the guy's voice right away. It made me freeze, as I remembered that day when I woke up in the cold empty room, not knowing where I was and why I was there, then hearing the voices in the hallway. I felt a chill run through my body, making me shiver. It was one of the voices. I couldn't even register what he was saying to my father in the interrogation room, I just heard that voice and in my head I was back there, listening to their conversation…

I felt Grant's arms on my body, shaking me and returning me back to the present.

- Skye. Skye. Say something.

- Damn it.

- Skye!

Finally I looked at him, not quite able to say anything yet. Looking into my eyes, he realized that I'd recognized the voice, and quickly led me out of the room.

- Baby, are you okay? You make me worried.

He cupped my face, put a gentle kiss on my forehead and pulled me to his chest. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, instantly feeling relieved. Feeling his arms around me, holding me close, I reminded myself that it was all over, that I was home, with Grant and my family. I said:

- I am fine now. And I love you so much.

- I love you too, baby girl.

A few minutes later I pulled away and headed back to the door, but he managed to grab me by the arm and pull me back before I got to open the door. His voice tense, he said:

- Skye, no.

- Grant, please! I have to hear it. Let me at least watch the interrogation. I have a right to know, please.

I begged him and looked him right in the eyes. I felt his hold on my arm tighten, then he said:

- Skye, I don't want you to remember everything that happened to you. You are meant to recover not to stress yourself out even more…

- Don't you think that in order to recover I need to understand why it happened to me?

He didn't say anything and I continued:

- I need to know the reason. I need to understand. Grant, please…

I saw him take a deep breath and close his eyes, struggling to make a decision, and then he finally said:

- Fine. But not for long. When I tell you to go, you go.

- Okay!

Coulson had a hard time trying to get any useful information from the guy and his patience was running low. He wanted to hit the man, hard, in the face, hell, everywhere. He wanted him dead, but he knew getting the information from him was much more important and that was the reason he was still alive. He needed to know why he had kidnapped his daughter, he was a father who had to make sure his child was safe, and he was going to do everything to make sure of that.

- I'm not here for a nice chat, Jacob. I am here to get you to talk about something I need to know. And there is no way you're getting out of this room, literally, until I get the information that I need. You understand?

The man kept silent and suddenly an idea came to Coulson's mind.

- Okay. So here's what is going to happen next: first, I let my daughter's boyfriend come back here. Not for a chat, no. You know exactly what he wants with you. Then, I come back with truth serum and whether you want it or not, you ARE going to speak.

I watched my father say that and it made my blood run cold. I looked at Grant and the determined expression on his face, knowing exactly that my father just let him go and beat all the crap out of that criminal.

As my father entered the room, Grant said:

- Jemma, take Skye and go to the lab. And get the truth serum ready.

I looked at my boyfriend with a scared look on my face. He saw my face and came to my side, putting a soft kiss on my hair.

- It's going to be fine, Skye. Don't be scared.

I just nodded, and he kissed each of my hands, then my forehead before letting Jemma take me out of the room, as I was pretty much in a state of shock.

Ward entered the room, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt, determined to make the jerk, that had made Skye and all of them suffer, pay for everything.

He was almost sure that it was fear on the criminal's face. He heard Coulson say in his earpiece "Don't kill him, Ward. We need him".

- Got it.

These were the last words he said as he threw his fist right into the eye of the man that had taken his girl away from him.

The man that made him feel the worst pain, that made him think the love of his life, his girl, his soulmate, was dead. The man that was the reason of her suffering, the reason why she was kidnapped and drugged, the reason why she had to wander in a totally unknown place scared and alone, the reason why she got emotionally and physically exhausted and couldn't stop crying. That man was going to pay for her every tear, for every minute she felt scared and alone, for every minute he and their family were worried sick not knowing what happened to Skye and where she was.

That was what Ward was thinking about every time he threw his fist to hit the fucking bastard. He was totally furious and in such a fit of rage that he himself didn't know if he could ever stop. But then he thought about Skye and her scared face, and that made him think and not kill the man, because they needed to know his motive for taking Skye, to make sure there was no one else who would want to take her or hurt her.

He heard Coulson's voice telling him to stop and that it was enough. Only then Grant really saw the man in front of him, covered in blood, and looked down to see his shirt was in blood stains, then realized his fists were in blood and probably covered in wounds too, he couldn't quite see, there was so much blood.

Before he left the room, he leaned in in front of the man he hated so much and said in a low voice:

- I hope you rot in hell.

As he closed the door and was walking down the hallway, he saw Skye walking fast towards him. He really didn't want her to see him like that, covered in blood.

My heart pounding, I rushed to Grant, registering the blood on his shirt and his hands, his fists covered in blood. Seeing that he'd hurt himself while beating the crap out of that man was what made me hurt.

- Your hands…

- Skye, I'm fine.

- No, you're not.

I took him by the arm and led him away to take care of his hands because it was the least I could do for him and I wanted him to get rid of all that blood that was making me sick.

I made him sit on the bench in our training area, not saying a single word, as I took the medical kit and then found hydrogen peroxide and some cotton pads. I could hardly keep myself from sobbing when I started removing blood from his hands. His fists were all covered in horrible wounds that made me wince, tears slowly making their way down my face as I proceeded to clean the wounds. Eventually I heard him say:

- Please, don't cry.

I almost finished working on his right hand when I realized I could no longer stand the look of him in that blood-stained shirt. I put down the cotton pads and moved to the shirt, quickly unbuttoning it but ending up tearing it apart to get rid of it faster and tossing it to the floor, thus getting myself into a hysterical sobbing and scaring Grant so that he had to pull me to his chest and hold me tight, whispering soothing words into my ear, till my sobbing subsided.

I stopped crying and said in a hardly audible voice:

- I'm sorry. Now give me your other hand.

He obeyed and sat back onto the bench, letting me take care of his wounds, still not taking his eyes away from my face, his face visibly concerned. Later when I was done and was putting away red from blood cotton pads, he said:

- I'm sorry you had to see this.

- It's okay. I just wish you hadn't hurt yourself like that while beating the man. I hate seeing you hurt.

My voice broke and he immediately pulled me to himself, planting gentle kisses on my hair, holding me close. The sensation still made me almost moan from pleasure and made my whole body tingle, as I still could easily recollect the time when I was completely alone and lonely and it was the thing I wanted so bad I could cry.

- Baby, I hate seeing you hurt too, and I've seen so much of that lately, it just breaks my heart.

It broke my heart too, and I just wanted to remind him that I was there with him and wanted to let him know just how MUCH I was grateful for what we had together.

- I know the feeling. But it's all over now. I'm so glad to feel your arms around me again. I feel so grateful that I made it back to you. I love you more than anything in this world.

- I love you too, baby and I'm not ever letting you go. Remember that promise about handcuffs? You're not getting away with it, and I am dead serious.

Startled, I opened my eyes. I knew by the tone of his voice that he was totally serious. This wasn't good, it just wasn't. Well, maybe, just maybe, it wasn't all THAT bad after all...

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**hehehe so here here, he IS gonna cuff her to himself :D**


	26. Chapter 26

**Here's another chapter for you guys!**

**ugh so I was trying to publish it much earlier but the website wouldn't let me, so annoying! **

****** And btw a surprise is coming in the next one! You're going to love it, I think ^_^**

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**Chapter 26**

When Ward left the interrogation room, Coulson took the syringe with truth serum from Simmons and hurried back to the interrogation room to finally find out the truth.

He entered the room where the man was sitting leaning on the back of the chair and without any words, stubbed him with the truth serum, which Fitzsimmons eventually managed to create after months and months of experiments and failures.

- Now, Jacob. Let's get to the business. Tell me why you kidnapped my daughter?

Just like he expected, the criminal started telling him just what he needed to know from him. Coulson made a mental note to thank the brilliant duo for their work and think of a reward for their amazing invention.

- She is smart and knows a lot of information on S.H.I.E.L.D. that we want to know. She is a hacker after all, I heard she hacked your system from her laptop. So here, she is a very valuable asset to us. She has loved ones who are her liability, which makes it easy to blackmail her. So we took her because we needed what she knew and what she could do.

Coulson was on the verge of exploding, but he collected himself and asked him again:

- What did you need the information on S.H.I.E.L.D. for?

- Are you seriously asking this question? This information costs a fortune! We're hackers, for god's sake, we don't get enough money to keep us going.

Coulson felt relieved that there wasn't any other person or organization who wanted Skye because she was his daughter. He's gained enough enemies while working for such an organization as S.H.I.E.L.D.

- Was it that hard to tell the truth when we asked you?

- Well, would it have changed anything for us? That was the only advantage we had.

- Right. Do you even regret kidnapping her? It only made everything much worse for you.

- Shouldn't have drugged her that heavily. Maybe it would have changed the way things are now…

As soon as he said it, Coulson didn't want to restrain himself anymore. That fucking bastard deserved to burn in hell. So he hit him again and again, feeling satisfaction as he did it, but he didn't let him die, no. He wanted the worst nightmare for that jerk. He was all for finding the worst prison on Earth and putting the bastard there. As well as the other three, they were going to struggle for the mistakes that their leader had made.

After I cleaned all Grant's wounds gently, not wanting to hurt him even more, he headed straight back to the interrogation room and I followed him. He walked so fast that I literally had to run to keep up with him.

When we entered, my father was inside with May, and he quickly asked us to follow them to the debriefing room, which made me realize that he had already got all the information he needed. I also noted that his fists were in blood too, so he must have laid his hands on the man just as Grant had. I sighed as we walked out of the room.

Ward was very impatient for Coulson to tell everything, he was all fidgety and restless. I kept silent and tried not to show any emotions that would let them know I was scared, deep inside I wanted to hide.

Eventually, the whole team gathered in the room and Coulson told everything he got from the suspect with the help of the truth serum.

Hearing the reason why his girlfriend got kidnapped, Grant tensed up and gritted his teeth.

- So they wanted her for information on S.H.I.E.L.D.? But what she could possibly know? She is not even an agent yet!

I asked him to calm down, but of course that didn't help. My father said:

- They were well aware that she could hack almost any system, including S.H.I.E.L.D.

Grant was obviously processing the information and after a while Coulson added something to calm him down:

- Ward, stop thinking about it. I am going to make sure these bastards go to the worst possible place on Earth. Trust me, they are going to suffer until they die. Now focus on your girl.

He pointed at Skye and they both looked at the girl who seemed lost and wasn't fully paying attention to what was going on in the room anymore, too involved in her thoughts.

Then Coulson turned his attention to their genius duo.

- Guys, you did such a great job with this truth serum thing, you have no idea how brilliant it turned out to be…

Hearing it, Leo couldn't help interrupting:

- Oh, we do have an idea…

Jemma smacked his upper arm and threw him a disapproving look.

- Fitz! Please, behave!

Watching their interaction and then waiting for them to finish, Coulson continued:

- Oh, right. Well, the point is, I owe you one. So you are free to ask for anything you want.

Fitzsimmons were lost for words. For a while they just opened their mouths and then closed them before finally speaking. Jemma asked as if not believing her luck:

- Anything?

- Yes, anything that I can do.

The couple looked at each other before saying:

- We need time to think!

- Yes, that's a very important decision to make, sir!

- Fine. Now excuse me, I need to make a call to Fury.

My Dad left and May followed. Grant took my hand, saying "Let's go to our bunk", so we left too, leaving Fitzsimmons to their big discussion.

I let myself fall onto the bed as soon as I entered the room. It was all over now. I could breathe again. I could put that nightmare behind us. I was relieved by the thought.

Grant sat beside my body sprawled on the bed. We stayed like that, in comfortable silence, not saying a word for a long time, then he spoke:

- Skye. We gotta talk.

Oh no. I knew it was coming. I knew what it was about.

I kept still and didn't move. Maybe I could pretend to be sleeping. I was so comfortable just lying there…

- Skye, I know you aren't sleeping.

Too bad. God, he knew me so damn well.

I opened my eyes and looked at him with guilt.

- I know what you're thinking. Skye, I don't blame you for getting kidnapped. This is ridiculous. You could never blame you for that.

Hugely relieved by this, feeling that he told the truth, I asked him quietly:

- So what is it then?

He started speaking in an unexpectedly loud and harsh voice, making me flinch.

- It just seems that no matter how often I beg you to be careful, you still forget about it more often than not.

Not having anything to say, I just whispered:

- I'm sorry.

My comment probably went unnoticed by him as he continued in the same harsh tone of the voice:

- Just how many more times you need to get into trouble to learn a lesson? How do I explain to you that you have to be careful and on alert every time you go into the field? Skye, how do I get you to realize what danger you're putting yourself in when you act so carelessly? When are you going to learn a lesson?

- I already did.

He seemed surprised to hear me say something.

- Sorry what?

I answered in a low voice, and a lone tear rolled down my face as I remembered that moment in Phoenix when I realized just how stupid I had been before.

- I've learnt my lesson.

He looked at me with a surprised look on his face. I slowly sat up and continued, my face on the same level as his:

- You think it didn't make me realize how stupid I'd been? You think everything that happened to me didn't teach me anything? No. It did. You think I don't know how lucky I was to get out of there alive? Well, I do. And I am very well aware how careless I was to let it happen. And you know, I know you are right! Because I totally wasn't looking around! I was bored to death, thinking there wasn't anything to watch out for! I was bored and I wanted something more exciting to happen, and well, I got it! Someone grabbed me from behind and I was helpless.

I was aware that most of the stuff I told him was because I was angry and wanted him to get angry with me and shout at me and tell me how stupid I was. I wanted to cry.

He was left speechless for a few seconds but then spoke, or rather shouted:

- You were doing what? Did you completely lose your mind?

He looked at me fiercely, his face a mix of total surprise and disbelief and disapproval. I replied in a voice so much quieter than his, feeling very guilty:

- You heard that.

He said with a concerned and pained expression on his face and bitterness in his voice:

- You see where your carelessness leads to? You should think of your own safety more, Skye. Whether you live or die depends on it.

After saying that, he got silent and just sat there looking down on the floor. It seemed like hours passed as I was sitting like that and watching him in semi-darkness. Eventually, he spoke again:

- I learnt my lesson too.

I frowned and moved closer to the edge of the bed where he was sitting.

- What are you talking about?

- I let you off my eyesight. Just for a few minutes, just for a little while. And it was enough. I turned around to look at you, to check on you because you had got silent but you weren't there. You scared all the crap out of me and I swear I've never been that scared in my entire life. So I'm not letting it happen ever again.

I looked at him in disbelief. He was blaming himself for my kidnapping. That was so wrong.

Suddenly he turned to me, cupped my face, and started trailing light kisses all over my face, his fingers getting tangled in my hair. Then he said quietly into my ear:

- I'm so sorry.

I started sobbing, my vision getting blurred with tears. I hated it. How could he blame himself for this? It was no fault of his. He was tormenting himself because of something I was to blame for. I heard him say, his voice somewhat desperate:

- Shhh. Baby, don't cry.

I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, bringing him close to myself.

- You can't blame yourself for this. Grant, you can't. It wasn't because of you, it was because of me.

He held me close and I wrapped my legs around him, feeling him with every inch of my body. I begged him:

- Please, stop blaming yourself for this.

He didn't answer and I pulled away to look into his eyes, placing my hands on his cheeks. I pleaded him, my voice getting weak:

- Please, promise me that and I'll promise you to do my best and be careful in the field. You can't blame yourself for this, Grant, it's going to eat you alive.

He kept still and I wept right in front of his face. The thought of Grant blaming and hating himself for what had happened to me hurt like hell. I knew that things like that could ruin a person emotionally, and Grant had already enough blame for what happened in his childhood, and it he adds more to that, it's going to ruin him. I knew I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let him suffer like that, I had to do something.

After watching me sob for a few minutes, he finally said:

- Okay. I promise. Just, please, stop crying.

He tried to kiss away my tears but there were still new ones rolling down my face. Greatly relieved, I managed to whisper:

- Thank you.

I kissed him hard on the lips and he answered the kiss without hesitation, laying me down and pinning me in between himself and the bed.

Right in the middle of our love making we heard May's voice on the intercom:

- Bus is taking off in 10. Go get ready.

We both groaned but didn't stop, couldn't stop, just quickened our pace. Then, lying on top of him, covered in sweat, my hair a total mess, I uttered breathlessly:

- Should we get going?

Grant didn't answer, just brought his face to mine to kiss me, taking my breath away, then said "Definitely" and went back to kissing me senseless.

I grinned widely, as this was all MY fault. I made him like that. He could never resist me and, even better, he was all MINE.

Of course we were late and May had to wait, having to put off the take-off for a good 20 minutes, which was just what she'd expected.

My Dad said we were flying to New York but didn't explain the reason. So we had no idea whether we'd got a new mission or not, which made Grant get all concerned about me getting involved in a new mission so fast.

- Grant, chill! I'm not injured or sick or anything. I'm fine. I can go on missions.

He spoke, sounding a bit angered and annoyed, his voice determined:

- Whether you can or cannot go on missions is not for you to decide, honey. It's me, your S.O. and A.C., your boss who get to decide THAT.

- You make it sound like I'm your property or something.

He just looked at me incredulously and huffed.

- Of course you are not a property, Skye. But nevertheless you ARE mine.

Just the sound of that made me happy and I couldn't hide the smile that proved that.

- That doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.

- As your S.O. I can.

He was impossible. Not having any good objections for that, I got frustrated and just puffed and walked out of the room. I walked out but then turned back sharply, walking back to add "You frustrate me" before walking away again and leaving him stand there.

When I was in the hall I heard his steps behind me.

- Sorry, what did you just say?

I only proceeded walking to the kitchen to get myself a snack. I really needed some ice-cream to calm down a bit. He called after me.

- Skye! Skye Coulson, don't you dare ignore your boyfriend like that!

He was getting frustrated too and I loved that. I smiled in satisfaction and opened the fridge to retrieve my chocolate-and-caramel ice-cream.

- Skye…

I opened the lid, took a spoon and started eating, closing my eyes because it was delicious like that. Ice-cream was good for me, it kept me calm and in control, and I knew I was making Grant mad, which suited me just fine.

- Oh, for god's sake, this can't go on! Skye, talk to me!

He sounded so commanding that I could hardly restrain myself from throwing the ice-cream right into his face. I didn't do that partly because it would be mean and partly for the sake of my ice-cream. So I just threw him a look of disapproval and continued eating the ice-cream.

- Skye, please.

He reached out to take my hand and kissed my knuckles, and that totally made me melt just like that ice-cream in my mouth, his touch was all it took. Finally, I spoke:

- You're too overprotective. And it's not that I mind, I love it that you take care of me, I do. But the way you want to control me and lock me up somewhere safe… it's just ridiculous. Grant, I'm a grown-up!

He stood up and came closer. He lifted my chin gently so that our eyes met and said in that gentle voice full of love:

- Skye, baby, you know how I love you. I'll never stop worrying and going crazy over your safety and protection. I don't want to control you, only keep you safe and sound. I'm too scared to lose you, and I'm sorry if it makes me selfish.

The annoying sound of the intercom announcing landing in NY interrupted us again.

What were we supposed to do in NY anyway?

* * *

**what could it be? surprise surprise! you'll know in the next chapter! ;)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Here ye here ye! An update for ya:) **

**I hope you like the surprise at the end of the chapter, guys! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

We landed in New York and a weird thing happened. Without so much as to explain himself, my father took Melinda and they left together, telling us we were free till 6 in the evening.

I couldn't help thinking that my Dad's secret mission was to take May on a date because honestly it looked exactly like that. Judging by the way they looked when they were leaving, a smile on my father's face and a hint of smile in May's eyes, I could say they went somewhere pleasant. I was kind of offended that he hadn't told me anything, that he didn't want to tell me anything about this or his love life or whatever he had with May. I wanted my Dad to tell me things like that, I wanted to be closer to him and I wasn't going to give up without a fight. He was my Dad and I wanted to know what was going on in his head.

So we had over six hours of freedom and I thought why not take Grant and go to Central park on a nice day like this. Actually I asked Fitzsimmons to join us but the scientist duo started rambling something about Guggenheim, which apparently was a museum, and then privacy, so Grant and I backed away slowly.

We took a taxi to Central park and when we got out of the car after about one-hour ride, Grant had to literally hold me to himself because I was bouncy, in a good mood and ready for adventures, well not quite adventures, but even he had to admit that we didn't usually get so much free time. So I felt happy to be able to relax and be with my loving boyfriend.

We were walking slowly, Grant holding my hand tightly as if I was going to run away. I giggled at the thought of Grant running after me through the park and he turned to look at me suspiciously.

- It's not that I don't love to see you so happy but would you mind sharing your thoughts?

Of course I wasn't going to tell him what I was actually thinking and luckily I remembered something else. I asked him with a huge grin on my face:

- Do you think my Dad took May on a date?

He huffed and threw me a not-again look.

- What made you think so?

- Well, what ELSE could there possibly be?

Before he could say anything I managed to add:

- And remember that I was totally right about Fitzsimmons.

I looked up and smiled contentedly at him. He placed his hand on my waist to pull me closer when I started shaking slightly, feeling the difference in temperature in LA and NY.

- Skye, honey, even if you are right and they hooked up, it doesn't mean May had to fly the bus to New York so that Coulson could take her on a date, don't you think?

I said, frowning and pouting:

- Oh Grant Ward, why do you always have to make perfect sense?

- I love you too, baby.

After about half an hour of walking I was literally freezing, my body was shaking and of course it didn't go unnoticed by Grant.

- God, Skye, you're all shaking. I shouldn't have agreed to go for a walk in the park with you at this time of the year, now you're going to catch a cold. Let's get you somewhere warm.

- Well, who knew it would be so cold, I mean the sun is shining! And I'm not going to catch a cold after having a walk in the park, relax, Grant…

Rubbing my upper arm and hugging me closer to himself, he sighed and said:

- You are so stubborn.

- And you are impossible.

We hurried to enter a coffee shop across the road. Grant ordered me to sit down at the table in the corner and went to buy coffee.

I was still trembling when he came back with our coffee. He quickly sat next to me, wrapping his right arm around my trembling body and handing me my latte. He put a lingering kiss on my forehead and said:

- God, Skye, if you get sick I swear I'm going to give you such a damn hard time. Why hadn't you put on something warmer than that leather jacket of yours?

I took a few sips of my latte and closed my eyes as I felt the warmth spread inside my body.

- Skye. Stop it.

I looked at him in confusion.

- Stop what?

He sent me a look of annoyance and spoke, sounding pretty mad:

- Ignoring me when I ask you a question. Your body has hardly got back to normal but you had to put on that thin jacket and freeze yourself!

- You make it sound like I am the most stupid person on Earth, I swear. I said I didn't know it would be freezing outside, I'm a southern girl!

My voice sounded as if it was going to break and he softened up a bit.

- Baby, I would never even think that you are stupid. I'm sorry.

He put a soft kiss on my pouting lips and added:

- I just don't want you to get sick.

- I won't.

- I certainly hope so.

Saying that, he pulled me a bit closer, and we were so close that I ended up almost sitting on his lap, which made me chuckle.

When his lips connected to mine, his hands roaming over my body, I pulled away to warn him in a husky voice, even though it was hard to pull away, as I was enjoying every moment of it:

- Grant, watch your hands, we're in a public place…

- I heard that kissing helps prevent illnesses so I am going to kiss you, princess. We don't want you to get a cold.

- You're impossible.

Of course he claimed my lips again in a kiss even more deep than the previous one and I knew it was pointless to argue with him, as he was sure as hell he was preventing me from getting sick. So I didn't feel any guilt in kissing him back, even though some people were probably watching us. Anyway, no one knew us there, so it was fine.

Before getting back on the bus I managed to drag Grant into a shopping mall that happened to be just next to the coffee shop. I had to push some buttons and pull a pouty face and he was all mine. I could make him do a lot of things, almost everything, I noted.

- Com'on, Grant, we're in New York, make your girlfriend happy! Take me on a liiiiittle shopping spree, pleaaaaseeee!

- God, Skye, just stop squealing like that.

- So will you take me shopping?

I looked up at him with so much hope in my eyes and he rolled his eyes and answered in a tense voice, sounding pretty annoyed but having no other choice:

- Fine.

I jumped at him in the middle of the street, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, which caused some attention from the people around us. He held me with his strong arms as if I didn't weigh anything.

I kissed him on the cheek and said:

- I love you.

After a moment when he still didn't put me back on the ground I demanded:

- Now let me go. Please.

- No.

- Grant, are you serious? We're in the middle of the street!

- You didn't seem to mind THAT when you jumped into my arms…

- Grant! I'm serious, put me down!

When he did, I made a run for the shopping mall because one, it was cold, two, I remembered thinking of that when we were in the park and thought it amusing, and three, I wanted to make him a little bit mad.

He caught me at the entrance, putting his arms around me from behind and saying:

- Do it once again and you'll regret it, Rookie.

I've spent a few hours dragging Grant from one store to another and buying a lot of useful things not only for myself but for him also. Even though he kept saying he didn't need any of it, as his girlfriend I knew better that he was going to thank me for all of his new things later. So when I was buying new T-shirts and shirts for him, I thought that a little more color wouldn't hurt him. I was happy to buy him new clothes and pick them for him personally. I knew he would eventually like what I've bought for him. I wasn't buying him pink T-shirts or something after all.

I also took my time in lingerie store and I knew he was going to be thankful for that later, though he was very impatient walking around the store and getting back to me where I was picking new lingerie again and again to tell me that was enough and that we needed to go now.

Shopping with Grant was definitely so much fun, as he grew impatient and was begging me for mercy. He was all mine and I was in control. He knew he couldn't leave without me, which meant he had to wait till I was satisfied, which was a fun thing to watch.

Eventually he was so fed up with shopping that he literally grabbed my hand and led me out of the mall by force. I started shaking by the sudden change of the temperature, which caused him to swear as he hated to see me freeze.

I was starving and before Grant managed to catch a cab, said:

- Grant, I'm hungry. Can we go somewhere for dinner? I'm seriously starving.

- Of course! You should have told me earlier that you were starving. I'll catch a cab and we'll go to a very nice Italian restaurant that I like.

We went to a lovely place called Vapiano and came back to the bus after seven. Should I say that May was not amused by this, especially after seeing both of us with loads of shopping bags? My Dad though sounded more worried than pissed:

- What took you so long? You made me worried.

Grant was the one to answer:

- You daughter was starving.

- It was only natural that I got hungry after such a day.

Grant rolled his eyes and complained:

- I wasn't the one to drag you to the mall, mind you.

Before I could say anything, my Dad spoke:

- You two can discuss it in private later. We have a major team event. Team gathering in 10.

We went to our bunk to leave the bags before going to meet the others in the debriefing room.

Grant looked at all the bags and I heard him make a sigh and mumble something like "What are you going to do with all this stuff" so I had to say:

- Wear it! You and I are going to wear it.

To prove it, I fished out one of the nice T-shirts that I'd bought for him from the shopping bag and threw it in his face.

- Put it on.

He removed the nice purple T-shirt from his face and threw me a questionable look.

- Com'on, put it on, I wanna see how it sits on you.

- Are you serious?

I answered, sounding offended by his words:

- Yes. Aren't you gonna wear it?

He watched me and thought for a while, then started getting out of his shirt and said, his voice sounding pretty tense:

- Of course.

I couldn't not admire my man and his perfect abs, and had to restrain myself from unbuckling his belt and getting rid of those jeans… and kissing him hard on the lips, feeling his hot body against mine…

Grant's voice brought me back from daydreaming:

- Skye? Are you with me?

I shook off the image of Grant's naked body, for now, and asked him, hoping for a positive answer:

- Ah, yes. Do you like it?

He looked at himself in the mirror and said:

- Gotta try something new, I guess. Not bad. Thank you, baby.

I gave him a charming smile, happy to see him in something that was not black, grey or white. He gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead before ushering me out of the bunk.

We walked into the room and saw that the rest of the team was already there waiting for us. Their faces quickly changed from annoyed to surprised and curious when they saw Grant. Jemma couldn't help commenting right away:

- Wow, Ward, I see Skye got you a little something today…

He sighed and said:

- Not just ONE little something.

- Ohhhh…

Jemma was obviously left speechless, which didn't quite happen very often, and my father took that chance to speak:

- So okay, Jemma, you'll have a chance to admire Ward's new wardrobe later. I have huge news. One of you got lucky.

Fitzsimmons started cheering and were on the verge of bouncing, my Dad continued:

- Skye, come here, daughter.

I looked at everyone in surprise, not understanding what was going on and slowly approached my Dad.

- Today is your big day, sweetheart.

I had an impression that it was my birthday, and I checked the date in my mind, and it was not my birthday, so I had to ask, just to make sure:

- Dad? You know it's not my birthday today, right?

He only laughed, and so did the others.

- Of course I do. I know when is my own daughter's birthday.

- So what is it then?

- I have something for you.

He took something small out of the inner pocket of his jacket and passed it to me.

An id-card. I looked at it. I saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and gasped, having to close my mouth not to scream. It said:

COULSON Skye

Agent

- Oh my god, I have a second name!

Grant rushed to my side when I gasped once more. He put his hands on my shoulders and froze when he saw the id-card. Fitzsimmons rushed to my side as well, and it got almost silent, the only sound I could hear was Fitzsimmons.

I stood like that looking at my id-card, my hand over my mouth, and Grant behind me, squeezing my shoulders soothingly. Then I managed to ask:

- S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about me?

* * *

**Oooopsey... I guess there is a little bit more than just one surprise ;)**

**so what do you think? Agent Skye Coulson, huh?**


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